The Invaders are Coming – and They’re Green!

June 13, 2011

I have green aliens living in my backyard. They looked so nice when they arrived, but now…I really don’t know what to do. I blame the Government for this – specifically the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. I was a happy man until I started reading the book they’ve published – A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests – and now I’m a guilt-ridden shell.

When I started reading this book, which was named as one of Library Journal’s Notable Government Documents, I nodded knowledgeably as I looked through the beautiful color photographs of invasive trees that increasingly are infesting 13 southern states. Who wouldn’t recognize the ubiquitous Tree-of-Heaven, or ailanthus, which seems to line every roadway where I live in Northern Virginia? Then there’s the tungoil tree, whose name rang a bell because its oil is used as a wood drying and finishing agent. It’s now considered invasive and  is running wild in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.

All very interesting, I thought to myself, as I started paging through the invasive shrubs section. Then it happened. “Sacred Bamboo, Nandina.” What? No! It’s in our back and  front yards! We got it from a friend, and it looks so nice! “Widely planted as an ornamental, now escaped and spreading from around old homes and recent landscape plantings.” Well, maybe there’s an answer; according to the Guide, “Sterile-seeded, reddish cultivars available.”

Shaken, I got into the invasive vines section. English ivy? Uh-oh, we have lots of that, but it was here when we moved in. Vinca (periwinkle)? Oh, great, we planted that ourselves! It was all I could do to finish going through this veritable rogue’s gallery. I may have rushed a little, lest even more aliens catch my eye – I feel bad enough as it is.

Seriously, this is an eye-opening look at how many invasive plants are running rampant though the woodlands of the South and crowding out native species. Since many of them were imported for use as ornamentals, they look great in the photographs, but they literally are a blight on the landscape when they escape into the wild. I’ve had an interest in using native plants in my yard, and this book is really motivating me to do more. Anyone living in the South should be aware of the problem, and this book is an excellent place to start. You can read it here, get a copy here or here, or find it in a library.

5 Comments | Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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Child Abduction: A Family Matter

June 7, 2011

 This one was hard to read – not because of the language, but because of the painful subject matter. The Crime of Family Abduction: a Child’s and Parent’s Perspective, a 2011 Library Journal notable Federal Government document, tackles the astonishing and heartbreaking fact that more than 200,000 children each year are abducted by a family member. This little book from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention highlights a little-understood crime – and it is a crime, in all 50 states and theDistrict of Columbia.

I say “little understood” because, despite the fact that this is the predominant form of child abduction, it is too often ignored, as if abduction by a parent is somehow understandable or excusable.  Just how inexcusable it can be was brought home to me by the exquisitely painful first-person stories of abducted children and searching parents. The kids involved lose their families, friends, and homes, sometimes are forced to take on new identities, and live in the frightening shadow of discovery. For those returned to searching parents after years of absence, the reunion can be painful or even terrifying, depending on what the abducting parent has told them. According to the testimony presented in The Crime of Family Abduction, the trauma can last a lifetime.

This heartrending book is packed with information for anyone faced with what must be an excruciating situation. It’s also a somber and moving snapshot of a crime that victimizes those even peripherally involved. It’s not a light read, but it’s an important one. You can find it here or find it in a library.

6 Comments | Department of Justice | Tagged: , , | Permalink
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Fannie and Freddie: Where Do They Go from Here?

June 2, 2011

Like a lot of people, I’ve spent many years not knowing exactly what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do. Until the housing meltdown, I would have been hard pressed even to tell you whether they were Federal agencies or not (they’re not – they are government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs). As is often the case, it takes hard times to focus one’s attention on such things but, according to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Role in the Secondary Mortgage Market, a lot of people more knowledgeable than me didn’t know much more – the extent to which Fannie and Freddie’s debt securities and mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) were backed by the Federal Government, for example. Apparently some investors found out when it was too late.

Thanks to this excellent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) publication – one of Library Journal’s Notable Government Documents for 2011 – I now have a better grasp on what these two entities actually do, how they flourished in good times and wilted in the financial crisis of 2008, and where they may need to go from here, which is the crux of the CBO’s analysis. It offers three main scenarios – keeping them as GSEs, making them wholly Federal entities, or totally privatizing them. In explaining all of this, it’s helpful that the report uses boxes to highlight important aspects of its research, since laypersons (me) tend to get lost when exposed to too much financial expertise per square inch.

I also enjoyed finding out about other mortgage systems that might be worth exploring, such as that in Denmark, “where 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have been common…mortgage originators fund an individual mortgage by issuing a matching bond. Danish mortgages have a unique feature that allows borrowers to benefit from unexpected increases or decreases in interest rates. When rates rise, borrowers can repurchase their mortgages for less than the amount of the outstanding principal balance…When rates fall, the borrowers can take advantage of refinancing opportunities. In the Danish system—as in other systems that provide borrowers with options that are costly to lenders—borrowers ultimately pay for those features in the form of higher interest rates or fees up front.”  Interesting, indeed, although I’d be the last one to actually consult on something like this!

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Role in the Secondary Mortgage Market seems like a great guide for policy makers and anyone interested in the backwash from the great housing debacle of the past few years. It’s available to read here, you can get a personal copy here, or cozy up with a copy in a library.

8 Comments | Congressional Budget Office | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
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The Best Government Publications – 2011 Edition

May 31, 2011

Anyone interested in Government publications should find something of interest in Library Journal’s Notable Government Documents for 2011. It’s sort of the Pulitzer Prize list for the kind of things we like to read around here. For Government Book Talk fans – and I know you’re out there – some of the titles will sound familiar from my past blog posts: Afghanistan: Alone and Unafraid, The Battle Behind Bars, Deep Water, The Financial Inquiry Crisis Report, Memorial Addresses and Other Tributes…in Honor of Edward M. Kennedy, and A Photographer’s Path. I’ll be writing about others, like Bee Basics: an Introduction to Our Native Bees, as soon as I can.

There are also some interesting-sounding state publications in this Notable Documents list, like Palaces on the Prairie, from North Dakota. It focuses on “one of the ways community leaders elevated themselves: constructing palaces decorated with the grains or minerals that would best promote the businesses and products of their towns.” I love quirky-sounding books like this and lament the passing of such architectural gems. But what would you expect from someone who remembers the Flagship restaurant on Route 22 in Union, New Jersey? Yes it was (and is, the last time I heard) a building shaped like ship. Hey, I can’t help liking such things; I’m from the Garden State!

But I digress. The Notable Docs list also features international publications, like the World Atlas of Mangroves and Gender, Women, and the Tobacco Epidemic. I’d love to get into all of these here, but I have enough on my hands trying to cover the Federal part of the publishing spectrum!

Some of the publications are free, some cost money, and many are on line, but they all sound worthwhile. Notable Government Documents for 2011 is a great place to find some of the best publications the public sector has to offer.

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Saving the Forests of the South

May 26, 2011

Guest blogger Nancy Faget looks back at the people who saved the South’s forests.

I picked up Faces from the Past: Profiles of Those Who Led Restoration of the South’s Forests because I’m fromLouisiana. Anything written about the South interests me and profiles of people working in the South are always fascinating.  What first struck me about the publication were the photographs. Many of the rugged individuals profiled seemed to have a tall, lean look, as if they spent a lot of time outdoors.  What kept me reading (and giggling) were the personal stories, which were a genuine delight!

Take the story of H.G. (Mac) Meginnis (left), who was recruited by the U.S. Forest Service’s Southern Station to work on the problems of soil erosion and flood control.  With the approval of the Service, for 75 cents Meginnis purchased a small abandoned chicken house and some insecticidal spray to get rid of the chicken lice. The insecticidal spray expenditure then was disallowed on his expense account on the grounds that getting rid of the lice was for the personal benefit of the employee, not for the benefit of the government!

The author, James P. Barnett, provides an “up close and personal” view of these early foresters and pioneers in the South.  He notes historical events, but the most interesting parts are the stories about some very good people. Mind you, most of them were rule breakers and independent spirits, attention-getters who knew that the work of “selling” reforestation was very important.  Consider Charles H. (Charlie) Lewis, Jr. (left) who was considered a master of public relations.  He’s remembered for being able to “recite the returns on investment in reforestation and punctuate it by throwing seedlings into the audience. He had his own version of a striptease where he would remove all items that were not made from a forest product.”

It’s not too soon to reserve a forest cabin for the fall, and I’m looking forward to waking up to the sound of wind rustling the trees.  Future visits to the forests will be more meaningful now that I know of those who preserved the place for me and my family.  You can find more information about Faces of the Past and read it here or track it down at a library.

4 Comments | U.S. Forest Service | Tagged: , , | Permalink
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Studying the Politics of Militant Islam in Southeast Asia

May 23, 2011

Regular readers of this blog know that I’m interested in international politics and global strategic issues, among many, many other things (as a reader, I’m a total magpie – and proud of it!). Since the recent unlamented demise of Osama bin Laden, the issues of terrorism and Islamic militancy are back in the news, but sometimes only superficially. Whole areas of the world continue to be ignored by the media, or appear to be on their back burner.

That’s why a book like A Muslim Archipelago: Islam and Politics in Southeast Asia, from the National Defense Intelligence College, is so illuminating. It provides both historical perspectives and contemporary insights into the origins and political position of Islam in Indonesia and its various components, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Islam in Indonesia, for example, has assimilated many characteristics of Hindu and animistic beliefs, making it vastly different than the austere Wahabism of Saudi Arabia or the fundamentalism of the Taliban. The book also points out that places like Acheh in Indonesia and the southern region of Thailand were independent Muslim polities until relatively recent times, resulting in a potent blend of religion and regionalism that sometimes explodes into insurrection. America’s own experience with the Moros of the Philippines in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War is only one example – and the Moros are still challenging the Filipino state today.

A Muslim Archipelago is also a lucidly written guide to the bewildering proliferation of militant groups. as in many extremist political movements, factions and splits are common. Jemaah Islamiyeh, Laskar Jundallah, and Laskar Jihad all appear within a few pages of each other in the section on Indonesia, but the book does a good job of differentiating their aims and actions. When (and I’m afraid it’s not “if”) the next flare-up of  insurgency or terrorism crops up in Southeast Asia, this book will provide the context within which to explicate the issues and personalities involved.

I hope policy makers and strategists, and political leaders around the world can benefit form the information in this excellent book – it’s in all of our best interests if they do. You can browse through it here or here (where you can also order it as an eBook!), get your own copy here, or find it in a library.

4 Comments | National Defense Intelligence College | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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Through a Fish’s Eye

May 18, 2011

Guest blogger Tina Perantonakis whets our appetite for seafood and sustainability.

Every time I visit my local grocery store, I’m tempted by the fish and shellfish on display in the seafood case—wild-caught salmon from Alaska, grouper from Florida, catfish from North Carolina, and my favorite, local crabs from the Chesapeake Bay, are just a few examples.  As much as I enjoy most types of seafood, lately I’ve been purchasing fish and shellfish that originate from the safest and most sustainable habitats.

NOAA Fisheries and the National Fish Habitat Board recently published a book that undoubtedly will  help me learn more about aquatic habitats, the environment, and fisheries. The book, Through a Fish’s Eye: The Status of Fish Habitats in the United States 2010, provides an environmental assessment of estuaries and rivers in the United States.  The assessments are supplemented by beautiful color photographs and informative graphs and charts. The book also includes a helpful chapter, “How to Read and Understand This Report,” which describes the methodologies used for the assessment. 

Since I live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, I first read the Fish Habitat assessment for theMid-Atlantic States.  Sadly, the report concludes the bay has “a very high risk of current habitat degradation…” and details the human activities that have an effect on fish habitats. The assessments for each region do end on a hopeful note by highlighting public and private conservation projects aimed at reversing damage already done.  Since reading the report, I’ve become more conscious of how my daily activities affect the Bay.  I was even inspired to tackle more Bay-friendly projects around my house, including installing an additional rain barrel to capture rain water and planting native trees in my yard.      

If you’d like to learn which varieties of U.S. seafood are the most sustainable, visit NOAA’s wonderful Fish Watch webpage here.  Through a Fish’s Eye: The Status of Fish Habitats in the United States 2010 can be purchased here or located  in a library here.

 

4 Comments | NOAA | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
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The Secret History of Invisible Ink, Part 2: Invisible Writing Made Visible

May 16, 2011

In my last post, I mentioned that the Government Printing Office (GPO) played an important role during World War II in preventing prisoners of war from using invisible inks to send intelligence back to the Axis powers. Here’s the story of that secret battle fought by the paper experts at GPO.

From late 1942 to mid-1946, the United States experienced an unprecedented influx of almost a half-million German, Italian, and Japanese prisoners of war. They were in a position to damage the war effort through attempts at escape and, based on prior experiences in World War I with German prisoners of war, the possibility of espionage.

Since the Geneva Convention mandated that prisoners of war could write home, significant information on prisoners’ locations and labor activities could be transmitted through the use of invisible or sympathetic inks made from such common substances as lemon juice, milk, washing soda, baking soda, starch solution, and even human urine. The Convention also severely limit­ed the use of heat and chemicals to detect secret messages on such letters.  The War Department turned to GPO’s  chemists (see photo above) for an answer.

After extensive tests, GPO’s experts devel­oped a paper base with a silicate or clay coating. The coating contained a powder or dyestuff that would react to moisture or any acid water solution by turning green. The paper was called Sensicoat. This paper’s heavy 56-pound weight, high cost, were negative factors, so GPO then developed a lighter, uncoated, and more economical paper, Analith. After this paper went into production, secret messages to the Axis were greatly reduced. It was a reduction noticed and acted upon by German intelligence.

American censors noticed something very interesting about packages of food and clothing addressed to German prisoners as 1944 passed the halfway mark. A small amount of putty-like material about size of a kitchen match head began to turn up in various places of concealment. Repeated tests showed that the putty-like material was a “dry ink.” After several conferences with the wartime Bureau of Censorship regarding this problem, GPO’s chemists began work on a new paper, bearing in mind that it also would have to retain its sensitivity to fluid invisible inks. The result was a coated sheet processed with a water-sensitive formula and with great sensitivity to the detection of all types of dry inks

By 1945, more than 29 million sheets of the new stationery had been ordered at $1.04 per thousand and GPO had blocked a potentially dangerous flow of in­formation toAmerica’s enemies. It was an achievement shrouded in wartime secrecy, but one gratefully acknowledged by those who knew about the technical difficulties involved.

For more GPO history, go here.

12 Comments | Government Printing Office (GPO) | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
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The Secret History of Invisible Ink, Part 1

May 12, 2011

When I was a kid, I could write in invisible ink – really! Take some lemon juice, apply to paper with a brush or stick, and then heat over the light bulb in one of our living room lamps. Voila! Brown lettering would appear on a blank white sheet of paper. A bit unsophisticated perhaps, but it worked. I didn’t really have any secrets to smuggle past the authorities – it was the mere fact of writing invisibly that made it so cool.

Now here I am, all of these years later, still fascinated. A recent news item from the Central Intelligence Agency caught my eye – “CIA Declassifies Oldest Documents in U.S. Government Collection.” The subject of these mysterious papers, which date back to 1917 and 1918: invisible inks! I had to check it out.

The CIA describes these timeworn items succinctly and well: “One document outlines the chemicals and techniques necessary for developing certain types of secret writing ink and a method for opening sealed letters without detection. Another memorandum dated June 14, 1918 – written in French – reveals the formula used for German secret ink.” My favorite is document number 6: Invisible Photography and Writing, Sympathetic Ink, Etc., a four-page pamphlet compiled by Theodore Kytka, identified as “Handwriting Expert, San Francisco, Cal.” and “printed by the San Francisco Division [of what, I wonder? It doesn’t say] for the information of Post Office Inspectors.”

According to the CIA, only recently have advances in technology made these various formulae obsolete, spy-wise. Among the secrets: “A German Formula. Take one ounce of alum and one ounce of white garlic juice. Write with a quill and on heating the paper the letters become very legible and cannot  be removed by salt water application.” Then there’s “Disappearing Ink. Take a weak solution of starch, tinged with a little tincture of iodine. The bluish writing will soon fade away.” Boy, is my mother lucky I didn’t latch onto this information – our kitchen would have been a disaster area!

Not only is this a really great story, it also ties into GPO’s 150th anniversary in a very interesting way. During World War II, our scientists helped to thwart the use of invisible inks, like those described above, by Axis prisoners of war. In my next post, I’ll tell that story. Stay tuned!

18 Comments | Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) | Tagged: , , | Permalink
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The Civil War: 150 Years Later

May 9, 2011

Guest blogger Kim Dutch remembers the bloodiest conflict in American history.

This year is the 150th anniversary, or the Sesquicentennial (which I’m still having trouble pronouncing!), of the Civil War.  In that spirit, there are very few topics which bind us more than wars that were fought that eventually made our nation greater.  I was fortunate enough to grow up with a war history buff in the family and was particularly fascinated by the Civil War.  It amazed me how brothers fought brothers, families were divided, and that each side had such fierce loyalties.  Men and women sacrificed with no further thought or gain than “This is my duty and my honor to serve” – and sacrifices were made by all sides. 

“The Civil War at a Glance” tells the story in a poignant and entertaining series of break downs.  The brochure is organized yearly using maps and chronologies.  It begins with the Eastern Theater in 1861, when Northerners called it the War of the Rebellion and the Southerners deemed it the War Between the States.  Regardless, it resulted in “pitting two vast sections of a young and vigorous nation against each other.”  For the next four years, the Union forces would struggle to get to Richmond, the Confederate capital.  Most of that fight would take place between Washington and Richmond – there’s even a breakdown by State and number of battles thought to have been fought in each.  The author lays out the path the rest of the war took in the Western Theater, too, until the end in 1865. Along the way the battles and campaigns are summarized succinctly and are easy to follow so you can get a great sense of what occurred.   It concisely explains how some battles were pivotal, the paths and strategies used to win (or fail), and the men who led them.

The author quotes Mark Twain, who said the war had “uprooted institutions that were centuries old … transformed the social life of half the country, and wrought so profoundly upon the entire national character that the influence cannot be measured short of two or three generations.”  I’d like to think that those factors since have been transformed us into a greater nation with better rights and civil liberties for all.

You can find a plain text version at http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/misc/civilwar/civilwar.htm.  But what REALLY stood out was a colorful and user friendly online site, http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/history/a_civilwar.html, which has a wealth of information.  It has an interactive feature that allows you to create maps based on State boundaries and links throughout the site for more information about people, dates, and places. 

If you want your own personal copy, you can order it here.If you would like printed copies in packages, visit the GPO Online Bookstore. The folder makes for a handy and quick reference resource for individuals and schools and other groups.  Also, it’s easy to bring along if you’re actually visiting the areas and want to have the information and timelines on hand.

There’s no shortage of information on the Civil War out there, but it’s nice to have it summarized for those of us who may have forgotten some of our history lessons…not me, of course!

 For more celebrating and commemorating: The National Park Service has an Internet page dedicated to the Civil War’s 150th anniversary, http://www.nps.gov/civilwar150, where you can find further publications, activities, and parks – it even has a site where you can search for individual soldiers.  GPO has also put together a special sale of Civil War publications in its Special Collections section, http://bookstore.gpo.gov/collections/civilwar.jsp, to honor the occasion.  I think you can never have enough recommendations and amazing stories about this war!

5 Comments | National Park Service | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
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Fun with the Census

May 4, 2011

Guest blogger Ingrid Reyes-Arias has some Census tips for kids of all ages.

As a child, I remember using interactive learning programs on the Internet, like “The Oregon Trail.” Nowadays information is even more readily available, allowing us to spend more time learning and less time researching. For me, the best way to learn is still interactively.  That’s why it delights me to see the many online initiatives taken by Federal Government agencies to teach valuable skills to children. These agencies have created fun and interactive teaching materials targeted to kids that can still be used by adults like me – or you!  It’s a great way to have some fun and learn about our complicated and fascinating world.

For example, the U.S. Census Bureau has created Census for Kids, an interactive Web site for children.  The introductory portion of this site focuses on explaining the various U.S. censuses.  It shows the different types of items the Bureau counts when collecting census data, such as children, adults, pets, and houses.  In addition, Census for Kids has an interactive United States map with data on population, geography, and business for each state – all of which can be useful when completing a project for school or learning fun facts to become a more informed citizen.  After studying the facts, children can take quizzes to test their knowledge.  Census for Kids also has memory games and word finds, which I always enjoyed in school myself!

Give it a try! The next time you find yourself figuring out how to entertain your child or student, start by visiting this Web site – and maybe you’ll learn something as well!

5 Comments | Census Bureau | Tagged: , | Permalink
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Navy and Marine POWs in Vietnam

May 2, 2011

For some time now, the Naval History & Heritage Command has been producing concise studies of the Navy’s role during the Vietnam War. In previous posts, I’ve blogged about Navy Medicine in Vietnam and The Approaching Storm, the latter covering the decade-long run up to the introduction of combat troops in 1965. Today’s subject is The Battle Behind Bars: Navy and Marine POWs in the Vietnam War. The author, the late Stuart Rochester, was particularly well qualified to write on this subject, since he was the co-author of what must be considered the definitive account of POWs in Vietnam – Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973 – published by the Army’sCenter ofMilitary History.

A personal note:This is the first time I’ve written about a book whose author I knew personally. Stuart and I worked together for years, on and off – he as deputy and then chief historian at the Pentagon’s Historical Office and me as a GPO marketing contact for his office’s books. We talked mainly by phone, although we did meet in person a couple of times. He was great to work with, a fine scholar, and I regret he wasn’t able to enjoy his position of chief historian longer before his untimely death from cancer in 2009.

The Battle Behind Bars, as the subtitle indicates, focuses on Navy and Marine POWs. Most of the Navy personnel captured during the war were pilots, so they formed a close-knit group of like-minded individuals. One exception was Seaman Apprentice Douglas B. Hegdahl, who was swept overboard from the missile cruiser Canberra and picked up by North Vietnamese fishermen. In a terrific sidebar, the book describes the incredulity of Hegdahl’s captors when he told them how he had come to be swimming in the Gulf ofTonkin – they understandably found his story so incredible that they assumed he was a spy! Once they accepted that he was a raw recruit, an enlisted man, and had trouble seeing due to the loss of his glasses in the water, he became a kind of camp mascot, perceived as not that bright. In realty, he was smart, alert, and able to serve as a secret mailman for other prisoners under the noses of the guards. He also had a retentive memory that let him memorize a huge amount of information about other POWs, which he revealed to the Navy after his early release by the Vietnamese.  

Another sidebar discusses the use of a “tap code” by Navy POWs to communicate via their cell walls. Initially a simple code, it was changed often to prevent detection, to the point where Defense Intelligence Agency personnel had difficulty in decoding some of the samples the prisoners brought back after their release.

It wasn’t all movie derring-do, however. The book details the poor conditions, attempted ideological indoctrination, and sometimes brutal treatment of prisoners in North Vietnam and the even worse situation of POWS in the South, where they shared the miserable living conditions of their Viet Cong captors. The author is fair-minded enough to point out instances, such as in the area of medical treatment, where the Vietnamese often did provide decent care, albeit under primitive conditions. Overall, though, captivity in Vietnam was a prolonged ordeal which, even as conditions eased after 1970, meant years of misery for American POWs.

This is a fine study of a controversial subject and a fitting capstone to the career of a talented scholar. You can get a copy of The Battle Behind Bars here or find it in a library here.

9 Comments | U.S. Navy | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
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