The Fire Dream [Mass Market Paperback]

Franklin Allen Leib (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 1990

A generation came of age in Vietnam, and many went home to find themselves ignored and even reviled. Between the fighting and the return was a world of living and loving. The author, a US Navy lieutenant during the conflict, provides an account of that world, using a varied cast of characters.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Franklin Allen Leib is the author of six fiction novels. His first novel,FIRE ARROW, was published in August 1988. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 578 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books (July 29, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080410607X
• ISBN-13: 978-0804106078
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,325,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Novel on the Vietnam War, December 31, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Taylor, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fire Dream (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book when it was published in 1989, and was so moved by it I am compelled to write a review 8 years later. An outstanding story about duty and honor that will be a real treat to anyone who was part of the war or is interested in military fiction. Navy Lt. Stuart, on assignment with the Army as a land-based "spotter" for Naval gunfire, is a rich character through whose eyes one sees the drama, intrigue, and emotional anguish experienced by those who served with honor and dinstinction in this unpopular conflict. This is remarkable and serious book -- not simply an "action" novel -- a book that will fill the reader with many of the same emotions as experienced by Lt. Stewert. Although the novel apparently was not commercially successful, Mr. Leib has done a great service to those who served by writing this book. I have not been as moved by anything I have read in the past decade, and regard my mint condition, hard-cover copy as a prize possession.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A noble effort at "The Epic Novel of Vietnam", December 4, 2007

By 

Jeff Kelleher (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fire Dream (Mass Market Paperback)

Like the protagonist, I was a Naval line officer who served first on a ship off the Vietnam coast, then attended Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape training, and then served an extended tour in-country, all at almost the same time as Lieb's LT Stuart. I was completely absorbed in this book, and it brought back a hundred memories.

I thought I was part of a very narrow audience who would appreciate it. I see that all 15 prior reviewers gave it the full five stars. I salute those who got so much satisfaction out of it, and I have no quarrel with their high rating.

The reason I give it only four stars is that I don't think the literary quality quite lives up that of classics like "Fields of Fire", "The Things They Carried" and "Dispatches". The plotting is a little too formulaic and the writing is all on the nose.

But for anyone on the fence, do by all means read it. Entirely worthwhile.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Without question, an outstanding book., September 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fire Dream (Audio Cassette)

This book focuses on the bonds between men during times of stress and peril. It helps the reader understand and appreciate the changes war creates in men and the deep relationships developed under those conditions. It is truly one of the finest and most moving books I have read.