Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace [Paperback]

Maxine Kingston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0977333833 | ISBN-13: 978-0977333837 | Edition: 1

This poignant collection, compiled from Kingston's healing workshops, contains the distilled wisdom of survivors of five wars, including combatants, war widows, spouses, children, conscientious objectors, and veterans of domestic abuse. Vetrans of War, Vetrans of Peace includes accounts from people that grew up in military families, served as medics in the thick of war, or came home to homelessness. All struggle with trauma - PTSD, substance abuse, and other consequences of war and violence. Through their extraordinary writings, readers witness worlds coming apart and being put back together again through liberating insight, community, and the deep transformation that is possible only by coming to grips with the past.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Maxine Hong Kingston (Chinese: born October 27, 1940) is a Chinese American author and Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated with a BA in English in 1962. Kingston has written three novels and several works of non-fiction about the experiences of Chinese immigrants living in the United States. She has contributed to the feminist movement with such works as her memoir The Woman Warrior, which discusses gender and ethnicity and how these concepts affect the lives of women. Kingston has received several awards for her contributions to Chinese American Literature including the National Book Award in 1981 for her novel China Men.

Product Details

• Paperback: 614 pages
• Publisher: Koa Books; 1 edition (October 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977333833
• ISBN-13: 978-0977333837
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.3 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace. November 22, 2006

By Douglas Yelmen

Format:Paperback

I attended some of Maxine Hong Kingston's Veterans' Writing Group in Northern California some years ago and I have fond memories of our walking meditation, and the groups' writing. Which brings me to this collection of some of the most healing words I have experienced. "Veteran of War, Veteran of Peace." This is one of the most beautiful and healing books I have ever seen, and as a Vietnam veteran, and ex-clinical social worker for the Department of Veteran Affairs, I have read my share. This book has soul, and is very real, and relevant.

Peace,

doug yelmen

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read! December 1, 2006

By J. Underhill

Format:Paperback

I've often wished for what "Veterans of War Veterans of Peace" offers, honest and eloquent testimonies of war's myriad sorrows and transformations, to guide my own healing as a daughter of the war in Viet Nam. I am stunned by these eighty brave and beautifully-written offerings from combat soldiers, medics, conscientous objectors, and family members of war. Their collective wisdom is a triumph to the power of witness. Their biographical introductions are humanizing, and almost as compelling as their stories and poems.

This collection would make a gracious & affirming gift to someone whose life is touched by armed conflict ~ including veterans (past, present, and future,) family members, and advocates for peace. We are among many, yet our struggle to heal war's ongoing wounds & repercussions can sometimes be isolating and disheartening. "Veterans of War Veterans of Peace" is deeply heartening instead, full of hope and life.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important book - essential, gripping reading December 23, 2006

By Ravi C.

Format:Paperback

This is an outstanding collection of writing on a very timely topic. Most are first-person recollections of war, with a few short stories as well as poetry. This should be required reading for everyone connected to the military, from the President down. You will feel the truth of war, the horror of violence, and everpresent, the hope of redemption and renewal. This book is not to be forgotten.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars War and Peace November 29, 2006

By Cognite Tute

Format:Paperback

In a world of increasing violence, we need this book more than ever. We need it to remind us of the consequences of war and those left behind in the tragic aftermath. What surprised me most was the hope that some of the stories and poems deliver. Buy this book! And give it as a gift to anyone considering joining the military.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a powerful artifact of a culture of peace-- and good reading besides! November 27, 2006

By NYC Reader

Format:Paperback

This is a beautiful book that embodies a bridge-building effort of years: by meeting regularly as veteran writers, these men and women have transformed themselves and each other from "Veterans of War" into "Veterans of Peace," and Maxine Hong Kingston, as their convenor, is to be hailed and thanked for contributing to a culture of peace that-- soft-spoken but powerful-- got the House and Senate out of the hands of the warmongers this past fall. Brava! And there are so many astonishing poems and stories here! Among their many many excellent companions, be sure to check out pieces by Grace Paley, Chun Yu, Fred Marchant, and James Janko. Enjoy!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars EYE OPENING June 26, 2007

By Nanette Lund

Format:Paperback

I WATCHED THE AUTHOR BEING INTERVIEWED ON A TELEVISION SHOW. I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH WHAT SHE HAD TODAY.I BOUGHT IT FOR MY FATHER TO READ . I'M WAITING THEN I WILL READ IT.CAN'T WAIT .

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace February 28, 2008

By Kevin L. Roseland

Format:Paperback

As a professional counselor who has dealt with veterans and their issues for the past 24 years, I found this book very tantalizing. In their own words, the memories, hauntings and overall experiences were stated in as they recall them, and expressed as healings to those experiences few, if any who are not warriors, will ever experience.
I learned of this book on Mn Public Radio, with the author speaking on behalf of herself and those who participated in this exercize. I recommend this to anyone who knows a combat veteran, or someone who may merely have experienced a traumatic or series of traumatic events. My hats off to the veterans who contributed, and who shared some of their own naked experiences. Thanks so much for your sacrifice, and may peace be found in your lives.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Sandy Scull's Poetry is Well Worth Buying the Whole Book January 19, 2009

By Jaimal Yogis

Format:Paperback

I wrote this review for San Francisco Magazine. "This is the glowing result of a brave experiment. After the first Gulf War, Berkeley National Book Award winner Maxine Hong Kingston (China Men) began a writing and meditation group for Bay Area vets that quickly expanded to include refugees, protesters, veterans' families, even former gang members. In this first anthology, 80 of the 500 or so participants offer poems and stories spanning five wars. A soldier from the first Iraq war writes that he will not feel whole until he returns to Iraq and makes "peace with the people I once falsely believed were my enemies"; a Vietnam vet describes befriending a northern Vietnamese prisoner after a brutal interrogation; a Cambodian refugee tells of watching her father march to his death and finding his final words, "Do not cry," a poem of strength that guides her through life. Contributors range from noted authors such as Grace Paley and Larry Heinemann, who helped teach the workshops, to startlingly talented new voices such as veterans Sean Mclain Brown, Sandy Scull, and James Janko, a Vietnam medic who began his Pulitzer-nominated debut novel, Buffalo Boy and Geronimo, at the workshop. Some pieces are vastly better than others, and overall the book might be improved with more cutting. But each story is poignant, and all of them stay with you."