Books : After Sorrow: An American Among the Vietnamese (Kodansha Globe)
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by: Lady Borton
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 915.970444
EAN: 9781568361611
ISBN: 1568361610
Label: Kodansha Globe
Manufacturer: Kodansha Globe
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 320
Publication Date: October 15, 1996
Publisher: Kodansha Globe
Sales Rank: 732561
Studio: Kodansha Globe
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
A RARE CLOMPSE INTO THE SOUL OF VIT NAM
In her deeply moving memoir of Viet Nam, Lady Borton presents the 'American war' from the view of the courageous peasants on the ground, underneath the B-52's and Agent Orange-stripped trees. Their extraordinary stories are of a kind we have not heard before: stories of women who smuggled weapons under vats of fish sauce, concocted camouflage from banana leaves, dug tunnels, carried messages through enemy territory, gave away their children to keep them safe, all the while tending to the daily work of village life-providing food, burying and visiting the dead, and observing religious holidays. Drawing on twenty-five years of work in Viet Nam, Borton achieves an unprecedented intimacy with its people and lets their voices set the tone of conciliation and renewal. Without calling attention to herself, Borton-the first westerner allowed to live in a Vietnamese village since the war's end-suffuses her account with a deep respect for all those we left behind.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - utterly biased and misleading
this is one of the most biased, misleading books I have ever read. it reports all of the bad things that the south and the americans did, but totally ignores the atrocities committed by the north, like the 10,000 civilians killed in Hue during the 1968 VC offensive, including many who were buried alive. if the author is truly a pacifist, why are these not mentioned?
beyond that, it tends to be repetitive and self-congradulatory.
Rating:  - Long Winded But Essential
From her experience living together with the common people, Lady Borton is able to reveal to us the main reason why the Americans failed to win the war in Vietnam. In fact, the war is already lost even before it began. Vietnamese is those special breed of people that's enormously proud of their country & should Americans have learnt about Vietnamese history, then, they would have to think twice before deciding to chip in efforts in assisting the French, & subsequently, to fight against ... Read More
Rating:  - Another Point of View Rarely Noted in the US
Lady Borton holds some strong opinions as I have noted on a recent trip to Viet Nam. In this wonderful book however she holds them in check and expresses everything in the words, experiences and thoughts of others who presumably were there. Reading this in country and in fact in the exact places cited in the book was a moving experience. Borton does not actually take a view on agent orange here although she has one. In fact emphasising that a woman's statements in the text are annecdotal and ... Read More
Rating:  - very thoughtfull
As a veteran of the war in Viet Nam, I can say that the thought of reading another book about the war was not appealing. Most of the books are so apologetic, jingoistic, or wrapped up in macho face-saving that they are of little use. This book was recommended by a friend who met Ms Borton in Han Noi, Viet Nam. He had not read her book, but was impressed by her enough to tell me about her. Unknown to my friend, I was in Quang Ngai City in 1969 when she was there (I in Air Cavalry, she with Quaker Services) ... Read More
Rating: - very thoughtfull
As a veteran of the war in Viet Nam, I can say that the thought of reading another book about the war was not appealing. Most of the books are so apologetic, jingoistic, or wrapped up in macho face-saving that they are of little use. This book was recommended by a friend who met Ms Borton in Viet Nam. He had not read her book, but was impressed by her enough to tell me about her. I found 'After Sorrow' in my Colleges library and after reading it, have since bought several copies to give to friends, mostly ... Read More
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