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评论 (5)
《学校图书馆杂志》(School Library Journal)书评
YA-- A unique view of the ambivalances and contradictions of the U. S. role in Vietnam. A conscientious objector who chose to serve the Vietnamese people by teaching English and sending child war victims to the States for medical treatment, Balaban immersed himself in their lives and cultures. This tough kid from the Boston projects, Harvard graduate, poet, and novelist traveled with equal ease among American GIs, CIA agents, journalists, and local people. Readers will relate to his compassionate, anguished narrative and thrill to his many heroic escapades.-- Jackie Gropman, Richard Byrd Library, Springfield, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
出版社周刊评论
In 1967 the author, fresh out of Harvard, declared himself a conscientious objector, joined the International Voluntary Services and launched a series of emotion-laden and often dangerous ventures in Vietnam. They included retrieving the body of a colleague, who was probably an early victim of the CIA's Phoenix Program, and getting wounded in the Tet Offensive. As a member of the Committee of Responsibility he arranged for the evacuation of several war-injured children to hospitals in the U.S. despite obstacles thrown up by American and Vietnamese authorities. In 1989, 16 years after the fall of Saigon, he returned to Vietnam to teach at the University of Hue and look up the war-injured civilians he had helped. His self-deprecatory approach notwithstanding (referring to himself as ``a little do-gooder,'' for instance), this talented author was an aggressive, resourceful and effective activist whose sympathy for innocent victims of the war runs deep. This beautifully written memoir presents a sid e of the war rarely addressed. Photos. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus评论
This powerful account of poet and novelist Balaban's (Coming Down Again, 1985) volunteer missions of mercy to Vietnam from 1967-71 serves as a reminder of the awful price paid for that war, particularly by the innocent children caught in the bloody cross fire. A conscientious objector requesting alternative service, Balaban signed on with International Voluntary Services in 1967 and traveled to a town on the Mekong River in ``possibly the most insecure province in the Delta.'' A Harvard graduate, he was assigned to teach English at a new university at Can Tho. Good intentions aside, Balaban soon faced situations in which he wondered whether his ``conscientious objection seemed like so much vain posturing.'' Wounded during the 1968 Tet offensive, he later returned to Vietnam as a field representative for the Committee of Responsibility (COR), which sought to bring severely wounded Vietnamese children to the US for surgery and treatment. His job entailed coping with the often fatal maze of bureaucratic red tape and, occasionally, active resistance from government officials and US medical personnel who viewed some of their patients as dangerous enemies and COR as a ``left-wing organization.'' Balaban's heart-rending descriptions of maimed and brutalized children are only partially balanced by his joyful stories of those who made it to the US, recovered, and returned to their families. His ever-increasing involvement found him meeting with Viet Cong officials in Paris, helping AWOL GIs get to Sweden, and testifying before a Senate subcommittee on the extent of civilian casualties. Following a brief stint at Penn State, Balaban returned to Vietnam in 1971 to teach English and to record oral folk poetry all but lost to the ravages of war. While the subject matter is the ugliness of humankind at its worst, this labor of conscience and love is resounding in its humanity.
《书目》(Booklist)书评
Balaban, safe from service in the Vietnam War as a graduate student in linguistics, volunteered to serve anyway in the unique capacity as a conscientious objector. His "moral witness" is a vivid, still-angry critique of U.S. policy and behavior in Vietnam 20 years after he assisted civilians who were unintended, inevitable targets. His memories also chart friendships there and his deepening response to Vietnamese life, history, and culture. Arranging transport of badly wounded children to the U.S. for the Committee of Responsibility (COR), being detained by the Vietcong, and caring for the wounded during the Tet Offensive were part of his experiences. The sights, sounds, and smells of the more poetic Vietnam he investigated are evoked in lovely passages woven into the more brutal accounts. A recent return trip concludes this evolving perspective. A complex, moving work, despite its often painful content. ~--Virginia Dwyer
《图书馆杂志》(Library Journal )书评
Here's a conscientious objector few could accuse of cowardice. Morally opposed to the Vietnam War, the draft-age Balaban volunteered for two civilian tours in Vietnam with Selective Service-approved alternative service organizations, the Committee of Responsibility and International Voluntary Services. His thoughtful re porting of work with the civilian population in hospitals and villages provides a rare perspective on the complex personalities of the Vietnamese people. This was not easy duty. Living conditions were poor, he was captured once, and he sustained a wound in the shoulder. No self-righteous prude, like many American GIs he enjoyed smoking pot and drinking beer, but when visiting Saigon his idea of fun was to see the Botanical Gardens. From a well-educated and intellectual writer (Wilson fellowship to Harvard), this engrossing memoir is highly recommended.-- Richard W. Grefrath, Univ. of Nevada Lib., Reno (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.