No movie I have seen about the Vietnam war comes close to the action, drama and emotion contained in this book. I was on edge the entire time I was reading it to the point I was dreaming about it at night.

I soaked up every detail of the battle set-up, the day-to-day struggle in the field, and the bureaucracy, frustration and hypocrisy the soldiers had to deal with by being involved in a non-declared war. The guts and courage the soldiers (on both sides) displayed in some of the battles described in this book is almost impossible for me to comprehend. All of the action, machismo and old-fashioned fighting is dampened by the descriptions of gore, waste of life and guilt the author so eloquently shares with the reader.

I am fortunate to have never had to see or experience the events described in this book. I am also fortunate to have had the pleasure to meet the author. We are all fortunate that he has taken the time to record his experiences and share the romance and horror of U.S. Operations in Cambodia.

This account of ground and air operations in Cambodia is riveting. I flew over 300 missions in Vietnam as an A-4 attack pilot and as a forward air controller in an O-1 Bird Dog. Paul Morgan did a masterful job of portraying the relationship between ground and air operations. His grasp of the action from the pilot's viewpoint is flawless.
I've had enough "grunt" training to appreciate his vivid account of the ground action. The action seemed so real that at times I felt my heart rate increasing, seemed bone tired at 0300 or could feel the perspiration in my eyes!
Most veterans will also relate to his respect and sympathy for the enemy combatants he faced.
This book should be required reading for the Army's Ranger school and for all forward air controllers!

Paul Morgan is the military story teller par excellence. In "The Parrot's Beak" he elicits the full gamut of emotions encountered by the warrior involved in the war that crossed the many borders of Vietnam. There is the feeling of duty, daring, elation and even despondency. We also see all the faces of the true warrior as the soldier on a mission, as a prisoner and as the enemy. He even gives us an insight into another type of warrior, the patrol dog. This part of the story is touching and unique. He was there and it shows in his vivid descriptions and accurate portrayal of military tactics. We get to see the irreverence bred in all wars with ill defined purposes. This is a must read book told by someone who saw the war "as it was".

And exciting book to read. The author knows what he writes about
because he is and airline pilot. Some hot sex also, over all a good read.

For Men of the World (or those who wished they were). A GREAT guy type adventure story! Easy to read, tied together well.It has more twists and curves than 20 miles of bad road (or SE Asian Ladies!), yet flows smoothly.
If you have never been "sniff kissed", double crossed, shot at, almost raped or out of even bad luck, don't fret, the author will quickly introduce you to it all in rapid fire action.
Perhaps the best line in the book is in the introduction by "Captain John Jackson Jr," where he describes the Cambodian Apsara female God spirits as " their sole purpose in life, to have eternal sex with Khmer heroes, holy men and of course... pilots."
The flight crew accepts this heavy but delightful duty,(without ever popping a circut breaker!) in fact, it saves their desperate lives. Yo Mamma would blush... Strap in and hang on, for one heck of a rough ride! And an education on large aircraft, weapons, a third world culture, revenge, females and other delightful guy stuff.

So, what's not to like about Apsara Jet? This book has it all-
captivating flying, exciting "blood and guts" and extensive erotic activity. The main character, a former Eastern Air Lines pilot, was down and out on his luck until overcoming the bad guys with an elaborate plot. As a former EAL pilot myself, I found the book inspiring and intriguing. Perhaps the next book by this author could focus on the early demise of Frank Lorenzo. This would surely be a best seller!

Daran Kravanh survived against all odds and, in this collaborative effort, his story unfolds. There is much more than suffering, though, in this story. Gently, simply, and beautifully, his life is described: in Cambodia before the Khmer Rouge and during nearly unimaginable years of famine and deprivation. National history as well as that of his close large family, their culture, religion - including food, festivals, personalities, and a panoply of observations about nature and the animal (and spirit) world. Kravanh's deep attachment to music, specifically (and to this reader, surprisingly) the accordion, is a theme, and a source of sustenance in the years of his suffering.

There are countless themes that are reinforced in this story. His parents, especially the personality of his remarkable father are described rivetingly and memorably.

Lafreniere, Daran's collaborator in this work, describes their method in a prefatory note. "It is not," she writes, "a translation, an oral history, or an autobiography." Lafreniere goes on to write that it is the result of "the interplay of opposites," presumably those of herself and Daran. In my view, this is disconcertingly vague and isn't an adequate discussion of methodology. There was extensive collaboration, (no tape recorder), and the reader deserves a clear description of the method that produced such an amazing account. It's a shortcoming of this otherwise amazing, eye-opening, and soulful story.

This book is beautifully written! A very touching, even though tragic story. Bree's words are beautiful.

This is by far the most powerful story and inspirational book I have ever read! One word....BEAUTIFUL.

This is a very succint but adequate history of Cambodia, which started some 2,000 years ago with the Funan empire (1st to 6th centuries AD) and reached its peak with the Khmer empire (9th to 13th centuries AD) and its famous Angkor monuments. From then on, it was a steep downward slide into oblivion.

One just has to wonder how such a brilliant civilization could have disappeared even from the minds and memory of its own people. A Frenchman, Henri Mouhot, rediscovered the Angkor complex in 1860.

Chandler presents a rather complete picture of the long history of Cambodia in about 250 pages. He's concise--what a blessing from a historian. He highlights the most important AND the most interesting details about each period in Cambodian history, and avoids the common problem of banality that many history books have. It's truly a good read, and an easy one, too. It's written in a very clear style--another of its strong points.

In sum, I am supplementing this book with one that deals exclusively with Cambodian history in the last 30 years, but for the "big picture," "A History of Cambodia" is The One. I couldn't be more impressed.

Those who are fascinated with Cambodia, the Khmer language and the Cambodian people treasure the work of David Chandler. Clear and logical presentation are to be taken for granted. The author has for years set the standard toward which the next generation of Asia scholars strive. Even more rare than his impressive intellect is David Chandler's collegial approach to his subjects and his fellow researchers.

Having known Peter Scott just prior to his departure for Vietnam, I could hear his voice in my ears as I read Lost Crusade. Thank you Peter for this extaordinary contribution to literature about the war in Southeast Asia. For those of us who served but did not work directly with indigenous people, this book provides rich detail and insight in to the lives of the individuals we fought so hard to help. Should Peter Scott happen to read this, please accept my personal best wishes and thanks for your contribution. Trace Gordon, 101st. Aviation Batallion, 101st. Airborne Infantry Division 1969-1970

I read 1-2 titles a week and this is one of the most compelling things
that I have ever read. Peter Scott writes with clarity and a passion
for humanity that made me shudder. It is not fair to the rest of the
book to single out any one chapter, but a chapter near the end about a
Pentagon general and Mr. Scott trying to decypher a paper battle map,
crudely and simplisticly describing a battle on the other side of the
world that must have invovled some of Mr. Scott's friends, is one of
the cruelest things that I have ever read. I had to put the book down
for a few days after.

If this book were a work of fiction, it
would fail - not because of the quality of the writing, which
surpasses most fiction and stands with the best, but because an
experience this fantastic is just not believable. Unless, of course,
it is real.

Other top favorites: Project Omega (Acre), Forgotten
Soldier (Sayer)

"Lost Crusade" must be counted as one of the best books ever written about the Vietnam War, and yet it goes far beyond the category of books 'about' Vietnam. "Lost Crusade" is much more than a book about war and for this reason will be valued even by those with no prior interest in the Vietnam War.

In "Lost Crusade" Peter Scott describes his experiences working with native Cambodian soldiers (the Khmer Krom) during the Vietnam War, and the book centers on the relationships he and other advisors built with these soldiers over the course of the War. At the same time Scott offers a broader, historical context of the conflict and the place of the Cambodians within it. This is what makes the book such a strong effort on two levels: it functions as both a historical document of the War from the perspective of one who was involved in it on the ground, and it is a moving recounting of the relationships between men who fought together as told by a skilled writer.

Scott introduces the large cast of characters with the same easy clarity that characterizes the book as a whole, and in a very personal way the reader soon begins to feel some of the attachment for his soldiers that Scott himself must have felt. We also encounter, quite vividly, the brutality of the War itself as well as the barbaric history of the region that pre-dated U.S. involvement. This allows the reader to understand some of the ferocity and drive that motivated these soldiers, and difficult as the material is to read at times, these passages could be seen as some of the most vital and necessary in the book.

The true measure of the book's success, and what makes the book accessible to all readers, is how deeply attached Scott causes the reader to become to his characters. This is largely due to the incredibly effective way in which it was written. The style appears to be effortless, and it is not until one actually stops to consciously consider it that the great care and craft invested in the book's writing becomes evident. Such a style quickly allows the reader to become involved in the personal relationships Scott establishes with the soldiers, and amplifies the tragedy that consumes many of them by the book's end.

"Lost Crusade" is both tremendously moving and also historically important, and it manages to effectively accomplish both its goals. Peter Scott has succeeded in writing a book 'about' war that, like all great books of its type, is really about the relationships that result from people being placed in situations such as war. While historically informative, most people will value the experience of reading the book for what it shows of human nature and human frailty. The book is certain to grip its readers and consume them from its fiery start in Southeast Asia to its bittersweet conclusion on America's West Coast.

"The lone traveller is the most dependent of all, because he has need of everybody and no one has need of him."

So notes Carsten Jensen in I HAVE SEEN THE WORLD BEGIN, his narrative account of his journey of discovery through China, Cambodia and Vietnam during the early 90s.

Jensen begins his travelogue in Beijing, but quickly moves on to Shanghai, from which he travels by boat up the Yangtse River, then by rail and bus, into southeastern China near the border of Myanmar (Burma). A constant thread is the state of the country and its inhabitants, individually and collectively, post-Tiananmen Square.

Then it's on to Cambodia, a country yet to recover from the cruel self-immolation imposed by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge minions. As Jensen writes about this "biblical Judgement Day":

"... when the gates of Paradise were opened, it was only to reveal yet another graveyard. ... It was the humbled, the abased and the desperate who were raised on high, not to put an end to despair, but to extend it to everyone."

And lastly, Vietnam, with which the author is obviously entranced, and the reader with him. Much of Carsten's enthrallment is with the country's women - Tam, Kim and Scent of Spring in particular. It's with the first that he has a physical relationship. And it's Tam who states in the most eloquent manner I've ever encountered the worst thing about not being able to conceive a child:

"You can't pass on the eyes of the one you love to posterity. Like the stars they will be put out, instead of living on in a new face."

Whether Jensen is describing China's Tiger Leap Gorge, Shanghai's New Year fireworks celebration, Cambodia's Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh's horrific Security Prison 21, Vietnam's Hanoi ("like a wood with streets"), the royal tombs at Hue, or Dien Bien Phu, the graveyard of French colonialism in Southeast Asia, his magnificent prose transports you there.

I was tempted to award I HAVE SEEN THE WORLD BEGIN five stars, but am prevented from doing so by what I consider to be a significant omission. There's no photo section. What were the publisher and the author thinking?

Having finished the book, I now want to visit Vietnam, a country I really had no desire to visit before. If a travel essay can accomplish this for any destination, it's very good indeed.

The title of this book, I Have Seen the World Begin, got my curiosity. The Danish journalist Carsten Jensen travelled from Russia south in Asia, through China, Cambodia, Vietnam and Hong Kong, and memories from these travels are collected in this huge book. And there are not only memories. Jensen has an open eye and tries to explain what he sees, and make it part of a bigger context, our world.

Jensen travels alone, but he meets local people on his way. And he is not afraid of making contact. Many of these people are there for us to meet through the book. I Have Seen the World Begin is not a romantic story. Here we meet all the dirt of poverty, all the dust of the landscape, all the evilness in people, though we also meet the beauty of the women in Vietnam, the charm of a poor guide in a small village in China, the greatness of a landscape. Travelling might be boring and depressing, or it might give new dimensions to your life. Jensen has experienced both.

And where does the world begin according to Carsten Jensen? It began for him in the birth of his child. The world is alive, the world is a place which will go on living inspite all odds

Britt Arnhild Lindland

I was attached to A Battery 2nd/32nd F.A. - 2 8inch S.P. guns that arrived at F.S.B. Illingsworth 10 Days before the Battle ! The Book has some misinformation - like we arrived 1 day before the Battle ! I have already had 14 months inside War Zone C before arriving at Illingsworth ! A Battery has had many conflicts with the enemy - lived over 2 years continuiously inside War Zone C . The plans were forming in mid - march about using our 8inch S.P. guns, before entering Cambodia in May, being used as a Baiting Operation ! 79 Brave Americans were given orders to stay , after the fall of F.S.B. Jay , and to face the enemy ( 272 Reg. 1,050 strong )without any Hardline defense . Between the second hour to the 5 hour - 3,372 Friendly Artillery shells were fired at us - around us ! After the smoke cleared - 24 Brave Americans died - 100 Enemy bodies found ! We ( Proud Americans 2nd/32nd F.A. ) attacted and raised our American flag on a chopped down small tree . Everyone there were the BRAVEST Combat troops that the Army ever gave orders to stay and fight ! We all knew that a lot of us were going to be killed ! The Army knew that too ! Sent out the 1st. Cav. Chaplin the day before the Battle . The I.I.F.F. units received a Unit Battle award but the 1st. Cav. units did not ! Embarrassement that has to be corrected - going to try to correct it ! The Unit Battle awards should be Upgraded to a U.S. Presidential Unit award - Baiting Operation - is the Supreme Sacrifice that a Soldier does by giving his Life by following orders . Everyone of us still LIVING has the duty telling everyone of the Couragious men at F.S.B. Illingsworth on April 1 , 1970 .

The Cambodian invasion of 1970 is treated in a string of interrelated episodes; the story-telling is good but as military history, this falls short. No real analysis because the author is non-military. Note, intelligence is virtually ignored throughout the book; no S-2s were contributors (yet virtually every S-3 operations officer is listed). The book does point out how armor-heavy the Cambodian incursion was and also how effective the NVA was in dealing with US armor. Numerous M113 ACAVs and M551 Sheridans, as well as M48 Pattons were knocked out by the ever-present RPG-7s. Nolan is a conservative, pro-military author who wants to paint the US military in a good light, but he does allow lapses, such as the occasional apathetic or druggie soldiers. His conclusion is that the incursion was a military success that saved US lives and bought us 12-18 months of relative quiet from the enemy. Unfortunately, he does not discuss ARVN operations much and ignores the wider political issues. Better maps, an Order of Battle appendix, a little more info from the enemy side and a better strategic overview would have made this a superb book.

Chapter 5-7 regarding Fire Support Illingsworth was so accurate. I was there on 1 April 1970 with A Troop 1/11 ACR. I thought about my experience, and the book read as if I was writing down from my own memory. The accounts came to life! email: george@foreveryone.net

David Chandler has made extensive use of the archives of S-21, with photographs and "confessions" to show the absurd paranoia of the leaders in Democratic Kampuchea. An excellent book, with some aspects that put me off, though: blunt anticommunism, some assertions about Soviet, Chinese and Vietnamese leaders that are rather anecdotal than based on serious historic scholarship, and weird comparisons between the turturers at S-21 and psychoanalysts.

The title "Voices from S-21" suggests that Chandler's book will contain interviews/narrative from the prisoners held at the infamous Cambodian santebal. There is very little in the book detailing any one individual's personal experience (understandably, since only a handful survived). The book is extremely well-researched (45 of the total pages are footnotes) and I found it a dry read. Gets into theory of the prison's existence and why the interrogators carried out their orders with such detachment. However there is very little by way of firsthand accounts of what went on, if that's what you're expecting from the book.

David Chandler's "Voices from S-21: Terror and History in Pol Pot's Secret Prison" is a good book for a novice like me. Chandler starts by framing the book around the S-21 institution and its configuration. Chandler then dedicates and entire portion to the memoirs of the purges; the allegation santebal leveled at prisoners; and the various approaches of "politics" and "torture." The book concludes with short commentary of the "why" of S-21. Chandler's "Voices from S-21" is effectively a detailed history of the inner workings of the Khmer Rouge's secret police. Known as "santebal", and working out of a prison complex called S-21, the Khmer Rouge killed, tortured and interrogated "enemies" of the Democratic Kampuchea (DK). Due to the secretive nature of the Khmer Rouge, S-21 was "the place where people went in but never came out" (p. 7) - and this is an important issue to consider.

Between the years of 1975 and 1979, it is estimated that 14,000 prisoners (p. 36) entered S-21, but only four survived. The horrors of S-21 were uncovered during the liberation by the Vietnamese who found the prison's ghastly remains. Chandler used the S-21 record which were microfilmed by Cornell University in the early 1990s and synthesized the archive to produce this book. Because Chandler uses this technique the work is arguably incomplete, and it is my opinion, that in a lot of places it is largely speculative. Prisoner statements were extracted under torture, and other written records are tainted with party ideology or just laziness on the part of the recorders. Chandler, to his credit is writes that as Aristotle pointed out "more than two thousand years ago, confessions that flow from torture often bear little relation to the truth." (p. 128) Moreover, I admire Chandler for his creative use in including noted French philosopher Michel Foucault in his analysis but I am doubtful of both his interpretation and use of the same. On page 134, Chandler tries to fuse Foucault's notion of the "vengeance of the sovereign" into an almost Nazi like aura by describing the efficiency of the Khmer Rouge. Chandler pointed out earlier that the need for secrecy was an issue (p.17) but Foucault's notion of the "vengeance of the sovereign" is one of public display and notice - forming a contradiction to Chandler's initial observation/conclusion. Several notable issues regarding the book come to mind regarding his methodology. Chandler's creative use of Kundera/Kafka and the "establishment of guilt" is a very effective metaphor. Mind you, I am no expert in Cambodian history or the Khmer Rouge but when Chandler juxtaposes Kafka with S-21, you get the sense that one is guilty because he/she is arrested and not arrested because he/she is guilty much like Joseph K in "The Trial." Another issue that came home for me was the notion that after a while everyone was under suspicion. Folks like Son Sen who was trusted to watch over the "Eastern Zone" was later on suspected of treason. If it were not for the Vietnamese, he too may have ended up in S-21. (p.74-75) Lastly, is you have visited the work camp in Terezin in the Czech Republic, you will get a sense that most people who are incarcerated like this die less from torture but more from the atrocious conditions. Mind you, I am neither playing down the tortures, simply stating that the camp conditions were part of the horror as Chandler is good enough to point out.

Probably the most informative portion of the book is the detail relating to the "interrogations." What amazes me is that Chandler, despite his extensive bibliography fails to refer to Franz Fanon. Fanon's studies regarding the gendarme in Algeria could have shed light into many of Chandler's questions. Chandler adeptly coaxes his sources to illustrate the hopes and frustrations of prisoners and their interrogators. It can be argued that the most problematic portion of "Voices from S-21" is the concluding chapter. Here Chandler tries to set the horrors of S-21 in the milieu of other butchery of events like the Holocaust. Chandler brings up the Zimbardo and Milgram experiments (p. 147-148), but to make analogy with the Holocaust without referring back to it is impossible to do. Anyone who visits Toul Sleng museum will undoubtedly be moved by the degree and scale of atrocities committed in this secret torture center during the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. I recommend this book highly but it needs to be framed better for the reader by looking for something that sets the tone regarding Cambodia, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. For the background, it might be wise to start with Brother Number One: A Political Biography of Pol Pot (1992) (also available on Amazon.com) but for a psychology of horror - this book is second to none.

Miguel Llora

This collection of essays about the Pol Pot Regime is an invaluable resource for a student of that period. It is not a very good historical overview (read Chandler's book for that), but it provides several excellent sources for analyses of specific sides of the DK regime. Particularly interesting (for me, anyway) were the chapters on the intellectual origins of the Khmer Rouge, a topic that is often mentioned but rarely explored with the depth found here.

Kenneth Quinn, one of the contributors, finished an appointment as US ambassador to Cambodia in July 1999.

The nine essays which comprise Jackson's book offer a chillingly descriptive account of the Khmer Rouge and the destruction they brought to Cambodian society. Even if you are a Cambodia "novice" (as I am) you will still find this book easy to understand and chock-full of valuable information. The 250 pages of actual text in this book were so well written and "user-friendly" that I was able to read it all in one sitting.

A balanced, objective account of the Cambodian revolution that provides a global picture of the extraordinary and horrifying events that took place in this small country between 1975 and 1978. Fascinating essays are included on topics as diverse as the Khmer Rouge economy, ideology, and power structure, as well as the social and psychological makeup of Cambodia, the intellectual origins of the Khmer Rouge, and the pattern and scope of the almost unbelievable violence perpetrated by the revolutionary army and government. This book is refreshingly thorough and unemotional. The authors allow the facts to speak for themselves. The only drawback is the often leaden writing of Timothy Carney, a contributor of two essays. A selection of photographs is also included.

Allan Baille does more than tell a good story in this grippingnovel about a young Kampuchean boy who gets seperated from his brotherMang during the Pol Pot Regime in Cambodia. It shows human kindness at its full potential. Baille introduces a number of characters simply for the purpose of the scene Vithy (the young boy) is in. If you are looking for an incredibly descriptive read then i suggest you look else where. This book is best read by the younger generation.

I thought it was a great story . It was a good example of brotherly love . I enjoyed how Vithy had so much courage and never gave up looking for Mang. I also think Vithy really showed kindness to other people, by helping Saro . Over all I think any one who enjoys reading shold read " Little Brother"!!!

Wonderful! This is a book about a young boy who doesn't feel very brave but he discovers a courage within himself that he never knew existed as he travels through Cambodia. This book is highly recommended not only to preteens, but to anyone trying to find their own courage.