Customer Reviews

Ghosts and Shadows: A Marine in Vietnam, 1968-1969

5 star:		(7)
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This book was written about heroes by a hero. It's a page burner, there is no time to put it down once you start reading.

This is one of the best Vietnam books I have read. It is so truthful. Written in a way that made you feel what they (the marines) and all our young men who served in that war must have gone through. Wonderfully written!! ON July 5th, Phil Ball died, he was a wonderfully gifted man. He will be missed for all he was and all he could have been.

Over the past 13 years i have read well over 100 books on ww2 and vietnam, the majority of which were memoirs written by those who were there. Ghosts and Shadows is, one of my favorites. Although a basic description of it would make it sound like one of many books written by vietnam veterans, young man goes off to war then writes about his experiences, Phils book manages to cut several layers deeper than your average in describing the emotional and physical effects combat has on a person. I rank it up there with my other favs like Chickenhawk, Rumor of War, Suicide Charlie and Father,Soldier,Son. A couple chapters are about phil and his platoon defending a hilltop position against a vc night attack and in my opinion its one the best descriptions ive ever read about one of an authors single combat experiences. I highly recomend it and i really feel you will not be disapointed.

This book is probably the best Vietnam War narrative I have read, and I have read quite a few. It really puts you in the middle of the action. It's not too gung-ho; just the experiences of an ordinary guy fighting in the jungle and living day to day.

For fans of this genre, this book is a must have. It is written clearly with no dead time in action and intesity of this eye witness account. I rarely rate books but this one deserved my time and review as it acheives what few ever do. Bravo to Phil Ball! Rest in peace leatherneck. Michael Shannon

This has become a personal review for

me because I was recently involved in

bringing the MOVING WALL to Southeastern

Indiana and having it on display in

Rising Sun, IN. We paid a special

tribute to Donald Philip Schuck and the

others from a 5 county area here

including Dearborn, Ohio, Switzerland,

Ripley and Franklin Counties. Schuck was

from Franklin Co. and Brookville, IN and

I was honored to be able to go

and visit with his sister, Betty Stivers,

who was gracious enough to give me articles

about him and some pictures of him. I also

visited his grave site at St. Michael's

Cemetery and took a photo of his military

grave marker. We had a special supplement in

the local papers with the information about

the ones from our area who died in

Vietnam. I'd be glad to send one to anyone

who knew Don Schuck because he's an

AMERICAN HERO. Phil Ball did a great job

of bringing the war home to us and telling

us about his friend, Don. Don's sister

Betty is proud of her brother and what

he did for OUR nation. GHOSTS & SHADOWS

shows the respect he and Don Schuck had

for each other and the very difficult

times they had in Vietnam. It's a shame

we had to lose such a fine young MARINE

like Don Schuck. There are 58,260 brave

souls on that WALL and each one deserves

our gratitude for their ultimate sacrifice.

May they rest in eternal peace.

P.G. Gentrup

Rising Sun, IN

25th Inf Div

Cu Chi, Vietnam 1967-68

I noticed this book when I was looking for another book at the library.

The realistic combat engagements make the book riveting and hard to put down.

It has some good lessons on how to overcome problems in general.

Reading the book will help you understand Vietnam from different perspectives.

It is well worth reading I am glad that I checked it out.