The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty : A United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh,Vietnam ,1968 (My Name Is America) [Hardcover]

Ellen Emerson White (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2002 | Age Level: 9 and up | Series: My Name Is America

The brother of an anti-war demonstrator, a young marine is fighting a war no one understands while his sister is fighting on the home front to end the war in Vietnam and bring her brother home.

An agonizing dilemma plagues these brother-sister diarists. He is a Marine stationed in Vietnam. She is at home in America, far away from her brother's war zone, fighting for peace. As the marine writes in his journal about his experiences as a soldier, fighting an enemy he can't see, his siter seeks peace. In these gripping installments of DEAR AMERICA and MY NAME IS AMERICA, Ellen Emerson White captures the unique time period when America was at war both in a far-off place, and at home where adults and children alike marched in the streets for peace and freedo. Poignant and comlex, these two characters will give readers glimpse into perhaps the most tumultuous time in modern American history.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Patrick turned down college scholarships to enlist in the Marines. In December 1967, just out of basic training, he finds himself in Vietnam, "on a combat base, out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mountains, and jungle-and- a whole lot of enemy soldiers." His journal is an intense and vivid record of the loneliness, confusion, comradeship, and suffering during the four months spent under constant assault by the North Vietnamese at Khe Sanh. Naive and provincial, the teen is transformed and matured by combat. He develops a close friendship with Bebop, a Detroit jazz musician, and begins to question whether he and his comrades are actually accomplishing anything. "Too much shelling, too many mortar attacks, too many casualties. Not enough food, water, and mail." Patrick writes that he doesn't want to make any more friends, "because you keep losing them all the time." In April, 1968, the men of Hill 881S are sent to a "safe" base at Quang Tri. There, in an ironic twist of fate, Patrick is badly injured, and Bebop is killed in a rocket attack. Based on extensive research, Journal is supplemented with photographs, a map, a historical note, and an epilogue. Readers will respond to this absorbing book's vivid descriptions, deft characterizations, and fast-paced action. A sensitive treatment of a painful episode in America's history.
Patricia B. McGee, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. The author of Road Home (1995) calls again on her knowledge about the Vietnam War in this Dear America volume. The time is 1968, and Patrick has enlisted. As a going-away present from his father, he receives a diary, which he puts to use, at first because he's bored and lonely, then because he needs to articulate what he sees when he's caught up in the siege at Khe Sanh. The events are horrific, but White's characters are little more than stereotypes--the ladies' man, the "professor," the black soldier who loves jazz. Patrick himself is mostly just a reporter. What White gets right are the terms and the details--the mud, the sweat, the terror when someone is blown apart before your eyes, and the question: Should we really be here? Photos and an epilogue are included (which may confuse despite a note that the book is fiction), as is an afterword discussing the general historical context. Pair this with Walter Dean Myers' Fallen Angels (1988), which has more depth. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 188 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; 1 edition (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439148901
• ISBN-13: 978-0439148900
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ellen Emerson White has lived in New york City for many years, but still hankers for New England a bit.

She roots for the Red Sox, even when they are not at their best.

She is wicked private.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Dear Americas Yet!, June 4, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty : A United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh,Vietnam ,1968 (My Name Is America) (Hardcover)

I love the Dear America series and read all of them as soon as they come out, but I had never been a big fan of the My Name Is America companion series. However, I read this book because I enjoyed Where Have All The Flowers Gone?, which is the companion to this book, very much. Once I started reading, I couldn't put this down! Any fans of historical fiction or anyone who is interested in the Vietnam War should definately read Patrick's journal.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME, November 4, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty : A United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh,Vietnam ,1968 (My Name Is America) (Hardcover)

I've read this book and it's ssooooooo cool!!!!!! If you have read the book you'll know that Patrick has a younger sister. There is another book that is about her when Patrick is off at war. I think it's called "Where Have All the Flowers Gone"

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book, June 24, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty : A United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh,Vietnam ,1968 (My Name Is America) (Hardcover)

The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty is a book about a young Marine. I liked this book because it tells people about what Marines really go through, loses and gains. I think everyone should read it.