One More Mission: Oliver North Returns to Vietnam [Hardcover]

Oliver North (Author), David Roth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1993

The author of Under Fire provides a poignant account of a return trip to Vietnam, his struggle to come to terms with his memories of the Vietnam War, and his view of the lessons America should have learned from the conflict. 100,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

North's Under Fire (1991) has sold more than 650,000 copies, reason enough to purchase this account of his tour of duty--as a marine second lieutenant--in 1968 and of his return to Vietnam, at the urging of Zondervan, in the spring of 1993. The combat scenes are gripping, due no doubt to coauthor Roth, whose worshipful Sacred Honor: The Biography of Colin Powell has just been published. Even so, North lingers on the war too long, at least with respect to the announced purpose of his book. The "mission" is one of peace--to carry out the biblical injunction to help one's enemies. North strikes a winning tone in this regard, offering portraits of the Christian aid groups, International Aid and Vets with a Mission. But his account of today's Vietnam, while not breezy, is hardly intimate, and the notion of North as an old vet with a need to come to terms with his memories seems more convenient than heartfelt. North isn't insincere; it's just that he doesn't seem to have any ghosts to deal with. His faith, his marriage, his prosperity, and his status as a hero have anchored him. North is best on the sad state of medical facilities in Vietnam, personalizing the story with the testimony of desperate physicians and with accounts of hydroencephalic children--who until recently couldn't be treated in Vietnam. Otherwise, it's clear North wasn't in-country very long. John Mort

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; 1St Edition edition (November 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310404908
• ISBN-13: 978-0310404903
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,429,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Oliver North Comes to Terms With Vietnam, July 19, 2003

By 

T. Thompson (Wales, ME) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One More Mission: Oliver North Returns to Vietnam (Paperback)

This book is one that gives a view into experiences many of us will never face. Oliver North had a short tour in Vietnam but it definitely left him with many long lasting memories.
In this book we read North's personal impressions of what it was like to fight in the Vietnam War and he gives us the reasons why he thinks we failed there.
In 1993 Oliver North decided to go back to the country where he fought and finish his mission. Instead of going in a stance of war he went as an agent of peace to bring support, hope and reconciliation.
Oliver North shares with us his views as a born again Christian. He is driven by the teachings of Jesus Christ who calls us to, "Love our enemies." Oliver North does just that. He is driven to bring help to this hurting nation, shackled by a crumbling system of communism.
Oliver North visited Hospitals and Orphanages both hurting and dilapitated. He helped lead the way in bringing aid to these people. It is nice to see North, a professing Christian taking his life in Christ seriously and really going out and showing love to others.
This book is full of unique observations and inspiring actions. It was an enjoyable and quick read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a book totally worth reading!, October 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: One More Mission: Oliver North Returns to Vietnam (Paperback)

i read this book while doing research on ptsd. as an unrepentent left-wing, hippie, i am quite certain that a lot of people will not read this book because of north's political views. they are making a mistake. this book is very healing. it made me cry several times.

this books takes the reader into the heart of the war in I corps in 1968...it seems a lifetime ago--and yet, for many, it is as real as yesterday. we are, as north points out, a nation in need of healing over the vietnam war. too many people still suffer from ptsd as a consequence of it. they have traumatized their own children.... and society as a whole is poorer for the loss of these individuals.

we owe it to ourselves to understand the war and what happened there--no matter what our own political belief system is. this book goes a long way towards that goal. it also gives practical advice on how we, as decent caring humans, can, without a political agenda, help the people we bombed the s--- out of for 10 years. people who do not, amazingly, hate us for it.

READ IT!!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars ONE MORE MISSION: Oliver North Returns to Vietnam, February 15, 2002

By 

David L. Eastman "DAVE EASTMAN, OL 23,-24" (Center Sandwich, NH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One More Mission: Oliver North Returns to Vietnam (Hardcover)

I agree with all of the other reviews on this page; Oliver North certainly was not in Vietnam very long, but his co-author David Roth certainly represents well the time he did spend as a Marine platoon leader. The accounts are vivid and help to portray Marine combat infantrymen experiences in I-Corps. The book did help me to format my story of flying UH-1D helicopters in the Mekong Delta; I liked the set-up of the chapters and untilized this aspect. I wasn't too interested in the Christianity thing North gets into on his return trip; it certainly is true that this is what has anchored his life--but this is not much of a Vietnam vet story. It still is on my bookshelf, however, for the reasons expressed below by the other reviewers.