Customer Reviews

Rhymer in the Sunset: A Poetic Perspective of the Vietnam Experience

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I met the author of this book in 1965. He and I have been friends for over 35 years. When I met him, he was the highschool football team quarterback, basketball star, track star, and actually a pretty good student. I never never knew about his poetry writing until the year 2000. I could not read the whole book without crying from his sensitivity and descriptive choice of words to describe where he was and why he was there. Here are the words that a soldier wrote, here are the words of the son of a preacher, here are the words of a man that was willing to give the ulitmate sacrifice for the rest of us, and here are the words of someone we can never appreciate enough, because Phillip Woodall is writing the story of every soldier, son, and friend.

I am usually not into poetry but was curious about a book featuring poetry of Vietnam experiences. I am a child of the 60s and Vietnam will always be for me, a big part of what was going on in our country, both politically and culturally. I would recommend this book to anyone with even a casual interest in Vietnam. The author's words and the pictures are moving and memorable. Few books today are so affordable and offer so much.

Phillip Woodall vividly relates the essence of patriotism, dedication, bravery, sacrifice, sorrow and profound frustration experienced and embodied by the combat soldier of America's longest and most unpopular war. In symbolic, poetic verse, slimy leeches of jungle and paddy, ever so slowly, drained the life blood from America's warriors. So too, did the political unrest and protests on our streets empty the reservoir of America's will to persevere! This book tells it like it was! The fate of South Vietnam was NOT determined on the battlefield! This anthology is an emotionally intense recital of the endless agonies of fighting an unconsecrated war! Time does not heal all wounds! Woodall accurately and clearly establishes the fact that as surely as those who fell of the fields of battle need to be remembered...those who survived Vietnam need to be understood!

The author was in my platoon during my tour in viet nam --- I knew him slightly when I saw the book I was interested in it

Phillip L. Woodall reaches and caresses the heart of the Vietnam veteran. His poetry pays vivid tribute to the great service, sacrifice and continuing wounds that grunts of that war bear. Having never been one for poetry for its own sake, I am surprised to discover that through Woodall's makes me relive the experiences, complete with sound and smell of war in the jungle, which is a much more powerful than memories. I'm honored to endorse this fine little volume.

Phillip L. Woodall reaches and caresses the heart of the Vietnam veteran. His poetry pays vivid tribute to the great service, sacrifice and continuing wounds that grunts of that war bear. Having never been one for poetry for its own sake, I am surprised to discover that through Woodall's makes me relive the experiences, complete with sound and smell of war in the jungle, which is a much more powerful than memories. I'm honored to endorse this fine little volume.

Although I don't usually read poetry, I was surprised when I opened this book and found it difficult to close. I have read a number of war stories, many of which were about Vietnam, the people who were there and their accounts of specific events that took place. Some of them tell very emotional stories of loss, sacrifice and friendship. But not until now have I read words that truly reveal the emotions that had merely been described in the past. Instead of showing events through the eyes of a soldier, Phil Woodall's verse allows the reader to feel a moment in time with the emotions of a human being trying very hard to comprehend what is happening to him and the people around him. As such, it is much less a book of poems about wars fought by soldiers on far away battlefields, and more about the battle that rages within the souls of those who fought them, and are still fighting them long after.

Rhymer In The Sunset is making me like poetry. I dislike poetry when it seems to ramble in search of rhyme, often at the expense of any sense of logic. My military mind likes order, discipline and symmetry. The author of Rhymer drew me into his head. His thoughts are those of a person during a lull in the battle. One lies there, waits, and his mind races. It took me back to Vietnam, jungle firefights, minutes of terror and hours of tedium. It is a great read.

The photos are excellent. The special "finish" texture that is added to the photos make you feel the torrential rains and tears that were shared by the soldiers - he calls "doggies". Phil's writing is so vivid and the entire book is so well written, as to draw the reader into the murky waters with him and the leeches. Also a tactfully designed layout - throughout the book - listing the names of the 101st Airborne Division, who never returned, and to whom he has dedicated the book.

Here are the words of a young soldier as he wrote them on the battlefield. They are powerful and passionate, sometimes hard to read because of their truth. In "A Hundred Paddy Warriors" he gives a few tongue-in-cheek reasons to like being where he is. "Bar Napkin Writer" shows the feelings of futility in trying to talk about the war back home. Haunting pictures of men in the field help carry the message. In his dedication he honors the heros who died "in the tradition of America". This book heals.