The Strength Not to Fight: An Oral History of Conscientious Objectors of the Vietnam War [Hardcover]

James W. Tollefson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1993

An oral history of Vietnam's conscientious objectors presents interviews with forty conscientious objectors, covering such issues as family, faith, the struggle to prove sincere opposition to the war, and other topics.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Vietnam-era conscientious objectors here tell how they came to the wrenching decision to refuse the draft or, if they were already in the military, why they decided not to bear arms. The men discuss their strained relations with family members (emphasis on father-son anger), their confrontations with draft boards, their traumatic experiences in prison. Those who performed alternative service in the Peace Corps or as hospital aides recount problems they faced. Many of the men in this absorbing book fled to Canada to live a fugitive life throughout the war, several staying on to become Canadian citizens. Finally, the objectors describe their efforts to come to terms with their families, with their country and with their own consciences after the war. Most impressively, not one of the participants in this oral history believes he did the wrong thing. Tollefson is an English professor at the University of Washington.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Why one group of young men chose not to go to war, as told in their own words. By interviewing only conscientious objectors who took a legal route to evade the Vietnam War rather than those who simply dodged the draft, Tollefson (English/University of Washington) defuses the sort of hindsight criticism that threatened to derail Bill Clinton's campaign. The author's ``sample'' is broad, though not scientific, and includes a Roman Catholic seminarian; sons of men who served with distinction in WW II; leftists; conservatives; Jews; Lutherans--nearly every kind of American male to be found at the time. Twenty-odd years after the event, these men's words tend to share a detached tranquility--one to some extent depersonalized because no names or even pseudonyms are attached to the oral testimony, preventing readers from following the development of any one particular case. The excerpts are arranged chronologically-- some as short as a paragraph, others several pages long--and grouped into five sections: ``Deciding Not to Fight''; ``Trial and Imprisonment''; ``Serving My Country''; ``A Country Not My Own''; and ``Making Peace.'' From these examples, we learn that the peace of mind that came for many COs upon their fateful decision was generally followed by harrowing, often hellish, experiences as local draft boards and law-enforcement agencies routinely insulted, humiliated, and brutalized the men for acting upon dictates of conscience. (It seems that the CO experience has changed little since the WW II days detailed in Charles Shipman's It Had to be Revolution, p. 442.) Those who served in the war in noncombatant roles had different experiences--but usually demeaning ones as well. The process by which many COs, so harshly defined as inadequate and shameful by their fellows, worked their way back to a condition of social acceptance makes for compelling, if uncomfortable, reading. Quiet, simple, disturbing: An invaluable contribution to the cultural history of the 60's. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (T); First Edition edition (July 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316851124
• ISBN-13: 978-0316851121
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,573,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and Intimate, December 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Strength Not to Fight: An Oral History of Conscientious Objectors of the Vietnam War (Hardcover)

By using their own words, Tollefson does a great job of clearing many myths about those who refused to fight in the Vietnam War. Not all characters are sympathetic, but all are real, and this book definitely presents their lives in a way that provokes thought.