Customer Reviews

Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace

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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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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 .

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.

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."