Vietnam and The Sixties, Vietnam 8

300. (Photo Album). Commercial Spiral-bound Snapshot Album, imprinted "Memory of South Viet-Nam" on the front cover, with an illustration and a map of the country. Sixteen pages, with six snapshots on each page96 pictures in all. Subjects include aerial views of the flight over and arrival; barracks at base camp; individual Vietnamese women and American men; various kinds of aircraft; several beach scenes, including some with dramatic surf; numerous shots of an airstrip in an undeveloped area, and the aircraft there; and several aerial shots while apparently on patrol over a river valley in South Vietnam. Some of the photos have faded with time but most are bright, clear and fine. The owner's inscription at the inside front cover indicates "Tuyhoa." Snapshot albums such as thiswhile they must exist in abundance seldom come on the market.

301. PICKERING, L.J. Red Sky at Mourning. Unpublished Vietnam novel, which partially deals with "swine flu" as part of a biological warfare program. Reportedly, one of a dozen photocopies made in an unsuccessful effort to secure a publisher. 280 pages, double-spaced, 8 1/2" x 11", printed on rectos only. Fine in tape-bound, card stock covers.

302. PIKE, Douglas. Viet Cong. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press (1968). The first printing of the paperback edition (two years after the hardcover) of the classic, definitive work on this subject published in this countrya prodigiously researched and documented book subtitled "The Organization and Techniques of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam." Underlining in first portion of volume; owner name, address, and cryptic message ("Judy Garland sang Over the Rainbow 12,551 times") inside front cover. 1" ink square bleeding through front cover; overall actually very good in wrappers.

303. PLUMB, Charlie. I'm No Hero. Independence: Independence Press (1973). A P.O.W. account written by a former Air Force Commander, shot down over North Vietnam. A small press volume which was reprinted many times (we have seen the twelfth printing, in paperback), the first edition appears to be quite scarce. Near fine in moderately rubbed dust jacket with a number of edge tears; overall, about very good.

304. PORTER, John B. If I Make My Bed in Hell. Waco: Word (1969). A novel of a chaplain in Vietnam, by a writer who was one. Fine in near fine dust jacket with light edge rubbing and one short edge tear.

305. (Postcards). Three postcards from Vietnam, one of which has been written on, addressed and mailed by a Private First Class from Saigon on April 1, 1967. This one shows a market in Saigon. The other two are of a Saigon Hotel and of women unloading a boat in Da Nang. Each is fine. For the three:

306. (Propaganda). (Brooklyn): (American Patriots for Freedom) (n.d.). 8 1/2" x 11", printed on two sides. One side purports to be a letter from a GI in Vietnam, documenting Viet Cong atrocities committed against civilians, particularly women and children; the other side is a denunciation of the various left-wing groups whose names seemed to associate them with the Catholic Church, such as the "Catholic Worker" and "Catholic Peace Fellowship," which the mimeographed sheet describes as Communist fronts. A low-budget, grass-roots production, replete with numerous misspellings as well as questionable "facts." As such, a vivid glimpse of the degree of polarization in the country on this issue at that time; although the leaflet is not dated, the putative GI letter is dated March 22, 1966, suggesting that this would have been printed in '66 or '67. Folded in eighths, one small margin stain; else near fine.

"Psy-War" Propaganda Leaflets

307. (Propaganda). Pro-U.S., anti-Communist leaflets from the Vietnamese war zone. Unless noted, each leaflet is two-sided, illustrated, black & white, printed in Vietnamese, and on acidifying paper. Includes a sheet translating the text.

a. Why Do Americans Come 16,000 Kms to Vietnam? "America hopes for the most precious thing of all...World Peace." Text; photo of troops landing and being welcomed with flowered necklaces. 3" x 8". Near fine.

b. To the Soldiers in the Viet Cong Ranks. "Your family misses you when they sit around the dinner table..." Text on recto; drawing of a girl waiting for her man to return on verso. 6" x 3". Near fine.

c. Attention: Friends in the VC. "The whole nation is waiting to welcome your return." Text urging Viet Cong to repatriate to South Vietnamese government and bring weapons with them on recto; drawing on verso of a VC cadre being warmly welcomed by a government officer, with a volleyball game in the background. 3" x 7". Near fine.

d. The Spirit of Quang Trung is Still with the Vietnamese People. Text, playing on a nationalistic figure in Vietnamese history and contrasting the North Vietnam-China connection with the historical antipathy between Vietnam and China; color illustration. 8" x 4". Fine.

e. Tran Binh Trong Preferred to be a Ghost of Vietnam than a King of China. Text, again linking the North Vietnamese communist party, and therefore the Viet Cong, to Vietnam's traditional enemies, the Chinese; color illustration. 6" x 3". Fine.

f. Compatriots of North Vietnam, Look Straight at the Reality and Judge for Yourselves. Photo of destruction on recto; photos of prosperity on verso. Carrot and stick. 8" x 3". Very good.

g. You Can Help End This Cruel and Senseless War. "Seek and use safe conduct passes to leave the aggressor forces." Text on recto; reproduction of a safe conduct pass on verso. 3" x 8". Fine.

h. What Happens to Your Friends or Relatives in the Army? "They must stay in the South to die of disease or be killed in battle." Text on recto; reproduction of a safe conduct pass and instructions on verso. 3" x 8". Fine.

i. To the Soldier in the Ranks of the Viet Cong. "Do you ever think of your family? You know the GVN forces are winning everywhere." Text; drawing. 6" x 3". Fine.

j. To a PAVN Soldier. "You are destined to die and your body to lie in an unmarked grave..." Text; photo. 6" x 3". Near fine.

k. Letter from a Returnee to His Friends. "I must let you know my present happy life." Text and photo; escape map. 5" x 7". Near fine.

l. Dear Comrades. "In the face of your hopeless struggle for an illusory ideology..." Text and photo; text. 5" x 8". Near fine.

m. Why Do the Viet Cong Force People to Labor at Gunpoint? "Because the Viet Cong are losing the war!" Text; drawing. 9" x 3". Very good.

n. From the Day I Left You, Mother. A poem. Text and drawing both sides. "Found on the body of a dead soldier..." 5" x 8". Near fine.

o. Safe Conduct Pass. Illustrations and text both sides. Four color. 6" x 3". Fine.

p. q. r. Three untranslated leaflets. Each:

308. RABE, David. Streamers. NY: Knopf, 1977. A play set in an Army barracks in the early days of the Vietnam war. Winner of the N.Y. Drama Critics' Award for Best American Play of 1976. Remainder stripe; else fine in fine dust jacket.

309. -. Another copy. Again, remainder stripe; else fine in very near fine dust jacket with tiny edge scratches to rear panel lamination.

310. REED, J.D. Free Fall. NY: Delacorte (1980). A novel loosely based on the "D.B. Cooper" skyjacking, in which the skyjacker is a former Green Beret and a Vietnam vet. Fine in a dust jacket with several light paperclip impressions on the upper front panel; else also fine. Jim Harrison and Thomas McGuane blurbs.

311. (Regimental History). HMM-164. Vietnam. 1968. (n.p.: n.p., 1968). "Cruise book" for a Marine helicopter unit, which participated in the battle of Hue and helped resupply the besieged battalion at Khe Sanh. Thin quarto; covers a bit melted; near fine.

312. (Regimental History). First Infantry Division in Vietnam, Vol. II. (n.p.: n.p., May 1, 1967 - Dec. 31, 1968). Unit history for the "Big Red One" for the crucial period that included the Tet Offensive in 1968, the turning point of the war. Large, thick quarto, heavily illustrated. Slightly musty; covers a bit splayed; overall very good.

313. (Regimental History). The First Infantry Division in Vietnam, Vol. III. (n.p.: n.p., 1969). Third volume of this Division's history in the Vietnam conflict, covering the year 1969. Large, thick quarto; near fine.

314. RITTERBUSCH, Dale. Lessons Learned. Poetry of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath. (Waukesha): n.p., n.d. [c. >1990]. Typescript poetry collection, several previously published. 8 1/2" x 11", unbound. With pencilled editorial comments. Fine, in mailing envelope.

315. RIVERA, Oswald. Fire and Rain. NY: Four Walls Eight Windows (1990). The author's first novel, based on a prisoner's uprising at a Marine Corps brig in Danang, in which more than 40 inmates and several guards were killed. The author was serving in Vietnam at the time, and was part of a unit brought into the area to serve guard duty. Fine in fine dust jacket.

316. ROGERS, Roy A. Jackson's Mountain. Akron: Hampshire, 1990. A novel of helicopter warfare in Vietnam, by a writer who was a helicopter pilot there in 1967-8. Fine in wrappers; no indication of a hardcover edition.

317. ROTH, Robert. Sand in the Wind. Boston: Little Brown (1973). A novel of thirteen months in the life of a Marine squad in Vietnam, 1967-68. A well-written, ambitious, "big" novel of the war, based on the author's experiences. Near fine in very good dust jacket, lightly spine-faded and with a few small edge tears.

318. ROTTMANN, Larry Lee. A Hundred Happy Sparrows. An American Veteran Returns to Vietnam. (n.p.: n.p., n.d). [c.>1988]. Typescript, in diary form, of the author's trip to Vietnam in 1988. Prose. Double-spaced; printed on rectos only. Fine in ringbound cardstock covers.

319. ROTTMANN, Larry. Voices from the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Poetry of America and Vietnam, 1965-1993. (Desert Hot Springs): Event Horizon Press (1993). Galley proofs, one of 72 numbered copies sent out for proofing and for review. Poetry by Rottman, with photographs by him and by North Vietnamese photographer Nguyen Trong Thanh. 8 1/2" x 11". Unbound. One editorial marking in the Foreword (by Bruce Weigl) otherwise fine, in original mailing envelope.

320. ROWE, Major James N. Five Years to Freedom. Boston: Little Brown (1971). One of the early and important P.O.W. accounts, written by a Special Forces Major who was captured by the Viet Cong in 1963 and escaped five years later. Previous owner name stamp (of a retired U.S. Colonel); near fine in near fine dust jacket. A nice copy of a scarce book.

321. ROWE, John. Count Your Dead. A Novel of Vietnam. Sydney: Angus and Robertson (1968). Australian novel of the war, by a writer who served in Vietnam for a year. The experience of the Australians in Vietnam is recounted in a very small number of books, this being one of the first. Fine in a price-clipped dust jacket with several edge tears; still about near fine. A very scarce title.

322. RUBIN, Jonathan. The Barking Deer. NY: Braziller (1974). A novel of a Special Forces officer working with Montagnards in highland Vietnam. Small nick to cloth at lower edge of front board; else fine in fine dust jacket.

323. -. Another copy. Small spots to top stain; else fine in near fine, slightly spine-faded dust jacket.

324. -. Another copy. Small label front pastedown; pencil owner name and small ink marking front free endpaper; near fine in good dust jacket with several edge tears.

325. RUST, William J. Kennedy in Vietnam. American Vietnam Policy 1960-63. (NY): Da Capo (1987). Paperback reprint. Fine in wrappers.

326. SACK, John. The Man-Eating Machine. NY: FSG (1973). A book which follows four men, one of them Lt. Calley, and uses their experiences as a springboard for a critique of society. Small label front pastedown; else fine in very near fine dust jacket.

327. SACK, John. Fingerprint. An Uncommon Autobiography. NY: Random House (1983). Advance review copy. Includes writing about the author's time in Vietnam. Fine in fine dust jacket. Michael Herr blurb.

328. SANTOLI, Al. Everything We Had. An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Thirty-Three American Soldiers Who Fought It. NY: Random House (1981). A powerful collection of autobiographical pieces. Fine in dust jacket.

329. SCARBOROUGH, Elizabeth Ann. The Healer's War. NY: Doubleday (1988). Advance review copy of this novel of a nurse in Vietnam who receives from a Vietnamese holy man an amulet that has supernatural powers. Winner of the Nebula Award for best science fiction novel of the year. The author served in Vietnam as a nurse, and this is her first book. Fine in dust jacket.

330. -. Another copy, not a review copy. Also fine in fine dust jacket.

331. SCHAEFFER, Susan Fromberg. Buffalo Afternoon. NY: Knopf, 1989. Well-received novel of the war, focusing on one Brooklyn family and the experience of their sons in the war and afterward. Highly praised upon publication for its authenticity, its scope, and its success at conveying an experience and a reality quite far removed from the author's own. Fine in fine dust jacket.

332. -. Same title, first British edition (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1989). Fine in fine dust jacket. One of the relatively small number of novels about the war by women authors.

333. SCHEER, Robert. How the United States Got Involved in Vietnam. (Santa Barbara): (Fund for the Republic) (1965). Second printing. A pamphlet presenting a historical overview, by a Ramparts correspondent. Magic marker price inside, otherwise near fine in stapled wrappers.

334. SCHELL, Jonathan. The Village of Ben Suc. NY: Knopf, 1967. The author's first book, an account of the destruction of a Vietnamese village, originally published in The New Yorker. A devastating critique of U.S. policy at a still-fairly-early stage of the war. Owner gift inscription front flyleaf and bookplate front pastedown; minor foxing on endpapers; very good in very good dust jacket.

335. SCHLESINGER, Arthur M., Jr. The Bitter Heritage. Vietnam and American Democracy 1941-1966. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1967. A critique of U.S. policy in Vietnam by a former Special Assistant to President Kennedy. Inscribed by Schlesinger to George Ball, senior State Department official under Kennedy and Under-Secretary of State under Lyndon Johnson. Ball, who believed in the primacy of American relations with Europe and lamented the damage the Vietnam war did to the U.S. image abroad, including among its allies, was a passionate critic of the American effort in Vietnam, albeit from his position within the government, rather than in public and in the media. This inscription recognizes Ball's special role: "For George Ball/ who conducted this/ fight so long and/ gallantly/ with admiration and/ affection/ Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr." A remarkable association. Paperclip imprint on first few pages; else fine, without dust jacket. An early (January, 1967) published criticism of the war policy by a Washington insider.

336. SHAPLEN, Robert. A Forest of Tigers. NY: Knopf, 1956. A novel of the Indochina war, which at that time had recently concluded. Fine in fine dust jacket with just a touch of rubbing to the extremities. A very attractive copy of a book that is somewhat uncommon, and especially so in nice condition. An early novel of Vietnam by an American writer.

337. SHAPLEN, Robert. Time Out of Hand. Revolution and Reaction in Southeast Asia. NY: Harper & Row (1967). Shaplen was considered one of the deans of the correspondents in Vietnam because of his extensive experience and background in the Far East, although he was also associated with the "old guard" of reporters, who believed in at least some of the assumptions justifying the American presence, if not actions, in Southeast Asia. Near fine in an about near fine dust jacket.

338. SHEEHAN, Neil. A Bright Shining Lie. John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. NY: Random House (1988). A landmark volume, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Sheehan, author of The Arnheiter Affair and one of The New York Times reporters who worked on the publication of The Pentagon Papers, found in American officer/advisor John Paul Vann a cipher: through the convoluted turns of Vann's biography we can decipher the maze of American policy during the Vietnam era. History-biography as compelling as any fiction in a story that is at times a good deal more improbable than fiction would likely dare to be. One of the essential volumes on the war. Reprinted many times, the first edition is somewhat uncommon. Fine in fine dust jacket.

339. SHEPARD, Elaine. The Doom Pussy. NY: Trident, 1967. A "narrative" of the pilots who flew bombing missions to the North that straddles the line between fiction and reporting, but which uses fictional techniques extensively. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.

340. SILVER, Joan and GOTTLIEB, Linda. Limbo. NY: Viking (1972). A novel of the families of several POWs and MIAs, and the difficulty of dealing with the uncertainty of their husbands' fates. Fine in fine dust jacket.

341. SLOAN, James Park. War Games. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971. Originally to have been titled "A Small War"about one man's small concerns until he is confronted with the need to make a decision about his actions, and take a stand. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Fine in rubbed, else near fine dust jacket.

342. SMALLEY, Peter. A Warm Gun. (London): Deutsch (1972). A black comedy about a war "not unlike Vietnam" in which the Army is supremely disorganized and the directors of the war, in Washington, completely irrational. Only published in the U.K. (Newman 117). Previous owner's gift inscription otherwise fine in fine dust jacket. Uncommon.

343. SMITH, George E. P.O.W. Two Years with the Vietcong. Berkeley: Ramparts (1971). Autobiographical account of a Green Beret's time as a POW, during which he came to feel betrayed by his government and to conclude that the Viet Cong had the sympathies of most of the Vietnamese people. This is the issue in wrappers. Fine.

344. SMITH, Ken. Decoys and Other Stories. Lewiston: Confluence Press (1985). The author's first book, a collection of stories, one of which won a PEN fiction award. Several of the stories deal with Vietnam or its aftermath; the author was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Blurb by Tim O'Brien, among others. Fine in fine dust jacket.

345. SORVIG, Kim. To Heal Kent State. A Memorial Meditation. (n.p.): (n.p.) (1989). Computer printout typescript. Nonfiction memoir and reflection, much of which focuses on the possible design of a memorial for the shooting victims at Kent State, somewhat similar to the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Washington, D.C. 110 pages. Inscribed by the author. The recipient's name has been blacked out; else fine, in mailing envelope without label; sealed with red tape.

346. SOUTHALL, Rita and SHEARS, Carl L. The Blackletters. Love Letters from a Black Soldier in Vietnam. Washington: Nuclassics and Science Publishing (1972). Epistolary novel in the form of love letters, written over the course of a year, from a black soldier in Vietnam to his girlfriend in the U.S. Not listed in Newman. One of the small number of novels about the black experience and written by a black writer, in this case a woman (along with a co-writer). Near fine in very good jacket with minor edgewear and dust soiling.

347. SOUTHERN, Terry. Typed Note/Autograph Note Signed. 1968. The typed portion of the note (with some editorial changes) is a virulently antiwar and anti-American statement by the novelist and film writer (Dr. Strangelove, Easy Rider, Barbarella, etc.) which reads, in part, "there is only one conceivable way [to resolve the conflict in Vietnam]... and that is, with Johnson at the fore, to quickly, silently and with great stealth, slither out, on our stomachs. Anything less would hardly be in character with our grotesquely reptilian behavior, and our very sick motives..." The autograph portion of the note, dated March 23, 1968 ("some months" after the original draft) says that in retrospect the statement seems "too soft in its condemnation of Johnson, and totally derelict in its omission of Dean Rusk as the arch fiend and devil that he is..." Johnson announced his resignation one week later and this note, written in the aftermath of the Tet Offensive, gives a good indication of the low opinion of him held by many prominent critics of the war as well as a large segment of the wider public at this dramatic moment in history. Mild edgewear, and folded in thirds for mailing; else fine.

348. STARR, Paul. The Discarded Army: Veterans After Vietnam. NY: Charterhouse (1973). Groundbreaking study of Vietnam vets: the Nader Report on Vietnam Veterans and the Veterans Administration. By an author who later won a Pulitzer Prize for a social history of the medical profession. This is the issue in wrappers. Bookstore stamp on half-title, crease to front cover, some edge-soiling to pages; good. An important study.

349. STEINBECK, John, IV. In Touch. NY: Knopf, 1969. Autobiographical account by the novelist's son of his time in Southeast Asia in the Army, his return home and arrest on drug charges in the U.S., and his testimony on drug use before the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency. Important memoir by a youth who saw those days from a number of different, usually mutually exclusive, angles. Fine in fine dust jacket.

350. STEPTOE, Lamont B. Mad Minute. Camden: Whirlwind (1993). A self-published collection of poems by a black writer, one of 1500 copies issued in wrappers. Fine, and signed by the author in 1995. Introduction by Bruce Weigl.

351. (STONE, I.F.). "Vietnam: An Exercise in Self-Delusion" in The New York Review of Books, Vol. IV, No. 6. (Milford): (New York Review), April 22, 1965. Early criticism of the war by the iconoclastic intellectual and historian. Newsprint browning with age otherwise fine in wrappers.

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