Bury Me With Soldiers: One Grunt's Honest Story About Vietnam

Customer Reviews:

It Can Happen.......2003-12-07

This is a rare find indeed, but alas it can happen. It is not often in my life that I have found a book where the story is told with such integrity and can still hold my interest. This book is the perfect combination of these qualities. This book confirms my belief that honesty is the only policy and that reality is more interesting than fiction.

Coming from a generation behind the author I can truly say I am proud to be the recipient of the legacy that will be left as this generation matures. I hope my generation lives up to this legacy and maintains the respect for this country and its ideals that the author and many like him have.

This is the type of read I long for in my neverending search for good books.Although I have little time to sit with any book this particular one forced me to sit with it until I was at the end.

From the Shadow of the Valley..........2003-10-20

Book Review: Bury Me With Soldiers
Author: C. W. Standiford
Publisher: 1stBooks
ISBN: 1-4033-9523-3

From the Valley of the Shadow... by Bob Gray

I've spent the last thirty-five years avoiding books and movies about Vietnam. The few I was exposed to infuriated me for their absolute refusal to see any good in what we did, or to appreciate the sacrifice our soldiers made. It never mattered to me who ran the country, nor did I buy into the Domino Theory - a McNamara creation that proved to be, like the man, a lie. What mattered to me were the American lives lost in a half-hearted pursuit of - not victory - peace. Then I discovered the book by Wayne Standiford; Bury Me With Soldiers.

This is the story of how one average guy - average size, average intelligence, average outlook, life, and concerns - grew up and grew old in a few months of combat. The hopeless numbness that sets in after days of going from boredom to terror in one word - "incoming!" - is chilling in it's dissection of warfare on the human spirit. We watch as a callus grows over the author's heart, and his soul goes into remission to await the all-clear siren. And mail call.

We meet Standiford as a high school senior. A friend of his who had graduated the year before dies in Vietnam. From the universal frustrations of high school (the drudgery of studying subjects you know you'll never use, to sex - and the lack thereof) to the middle-class values still prevalent but losing ground in the 1960's, author Standiford's life and choices mirror the particulars of millions of men caught on one side or another of the Vietnam war dilemma.

Beset by the normal doubts and aspirations of any American teenager, he stands at his personal crossroads and wonders aloud what to do. The sixties were, as has been described by an endless array of social scientists, a disaffecting time for those of us then reaching adulthood. The old parameters of "America, Mom, and Apple Pie" were no longer enough. Not merely not enough - they were openly ridiculed. Jingoism was often the appellation applied. Bedrock beliefs were overturned with nothing to replace them. As someone else wrote about that period, America was ripe for a dictator. Free love played into the hands of every teenage boy who wanted to get laid more than anything else on earth. The beckoning hedonism was hard to resist.

But some did. In a seamless progression Standiford shows us that some took seriously the idea that America was worth fighting for - even if the reasoning behind the fight might be flawed. The author was such a man. Standiford joined the Marines, went through Recon training and scuba diving school, and set off to destroy the enemy to the best of his ability. He did so without reservation. Then.

In a recent email from Mr. Standiford, he told me the following: "I wouldn't take a million dollars for the experience - and I wouldn't do it over again for two million." Besides dating him (when a million dollars was big money), the statement describes my own attitude and that of most of the vets I know.

The story he tells called up memories without being predictable. Several times the unexpected sentence made me laugh out loud - a tough row to hoe when discussing mortar round-amputated limbs and burned bodies. And the honesty of this work is mesmerizing. Standiford's early loss of heart and how he dealt with it tells us what we need most desperately to know about any author: Can I trust his word? We find that, indeed, we must. No one would admit to the things he does and lie about lesser things.

His description of real people, men whose names should be engraved on our hearts, is riveting. The men with whom he served, Meatball, Tut, Ernie, Mac, and Doc, will always be a part of Wayne Standiford. The pain of seeing a friend lose an arm, a leg, life; the exhilaration of returning from the bush as a whole person one more time; the devastation experienced when the fickle love back home sends a Dear John letter; the unreasoning fear that becomes commonplace while sitting in a hole in the ground half-filled with water as mortar rounds creep ever closer; these too will always be a part of him. They become a part of us when we read his story.

The acceptance of the simple but horrific fact that man-hunting is suddenly legal can be discouraging (which means, literally, to lose one's courage). That so many American boys became men while undergoing this terrifying experience says much for this country and the values we continue to hold dear. That they did it despite attempts, by those Americans who hate America, to convince them they were all criminals for being there says much for the integrity and courage of the individual men. To this day the prevalent notion (and an awful lie) that all our military men came back junkies and killers continues to blacken the sacrifice they made.

So to all those men and women who survived and those who died trying to save a tiny country from the communist dictatorship that eventually did engulf and murder those with the temerity to stand against the Stalinist horde - I've never had the opportunity to say this before: Thank you.

That our faint-hearted politicians wasted your efforts, and many of your lives, does not reflect badly upon you - only on them. You stood up when your country asked you to. And I appreciate it, even if I prove to be the only one. You hear the complaint repeated endlessly nowadays: Where are our heroes? The answer is that they are all around us - many of us just don't want to admit it.

And my most profound thanks to Wayne Standiford for sharing his story with me and all who care to know what really happened there. If I can't occupy the plot next to yours, then I ask the same thing you do: please, Bury Me with Soldiers.

Bury Me With Soldiers: One Grunt's Honest Story ..................2003-08-22

I read an awful lot of books about the Vietnam war and those who survived it- I have my own little library in fact. Some books are good, some are not so good. Some are filled with so much tactical jargon or language that an average person cannot even get through to decide if they like the book!Some just sounds like one person pounding their chest real hard!
This is not one of those books. It is hands down one of the best books I have ever read on any subject. I am not sure I can explain why his words touched me so. But I think it is because he wrote not from a researcher's point of view, but a survivors point of view. Not from second hand- but from his own memories, his own heart, sadness, joys, anger, hate and sometimes humor. You can't make that up. No matter your talent, you were either there, or you were not and people know the difference. He is the real McCoy.
When I read his book it felt like he was sitting right there in my living room- as if he was my old friend come back from a long stay away from my home. And he sat there in my oldest most comfortable chair, kicked off his shoes and told me about everything that had happened since last we met. Some of his story made me laugh so hard I couldn't not stop- like when he got to boot camp. There were times when I thought my heart would break, and there were times, like when I closed that book, that I wondered how in the world did any man or woman ever survive that war, not just physically, but mentally, spiritually- for that, he is my hero. Yes he did some powerful things as a soldier no question, he was decorated for that more than once. But more than that, he is my hero because he wrote personally about things that we all need to read if we will ever, ever begin to understand how Vietnam was different for our soldiers. It is not easy to put everything you own personally in your heart on paper for other people to dissect. He is brave and I think this book should be read by every American.

A glimpse I couldn't have gotten otherwise,..........2003-06-18

As the editor and publisher of our county newspaper, I must read a great deal, and have gotten very particular about what I really enjoy reading- and I LOVED this book.
With a son in the military, three brothers who served in the military in the Vietnam era, and with a Dad who served in WWII, I have never really known what they faced, what they struggled with, and what a shock it must have been to be taken from "Hometown" to defending our country halfway around the world. The author skillfully walks us through his time in 'Nam, and I feel I've gotten a glimpse of thoughts and feelings, fears and emotions, that I could never have gotten otherwise.
I sent the book to my son and his wife, and they both love it also- (and my daughter-in-law finished it before my son!) We have compared notes, and decided we truly LOVE the way this author writes. I intend to check and see if Mr. Standiford has written other books, because if he has, I'm sold.
I've purchased books before, dug into them, and then struggled to even WANT to finish them because I was disappointed in the quality, and didn't feel the author delivered what he promised. Standiford delivers MORE than he promises- I was never disappointed and I found myself arranging my schedule so I could hurry up and get back to the book!
In short- this is a great book.

This Book Should Be Required Reading!.......2003-05-07

I loved this book! Thank you to the author Wayne Standiford for not only serving his country, but for sharing the experience in an honest, straightforward, and also sometimes hilarious way.

A true story, this book is a study in character of a 19 year-old who chose to serve his country in an unpopular war. Along the way, he is confronted by a myriad of decisions, from something simple like refusing to cheat to help a fellow soldier pass basic to leading his men in battle. He somehow manages to volunteer for everything, including joining recon and extending his tour of duty in the war zone.

By nature or instincts or upbringing, the young soldier makes the right choices when confronted with difficult decisions. He enters the marines a boy out of high school and leaves the war a man who has earned the respect of his fellow soldiers and his countrymen.

This is an enjoyable book that makes you proud to live in a country where a man's character can be so tested and that man can shine so brightly in those moments.

I think this book should be required reading in high school. It would help prepare kids for the challenges they face and give them a bit of a compass. The book also has a way of putting things in perspective. When I think about the problems in my life versus what this soldier faced, they seem pretty trivial.

I wish everyone could read this book. They would be proud of the author and of our country.

Customer Reviews:

Another Tom Sawyer.......1997-10-08

This book is like reading Tom Sawyer by Twain, Penrod by Tarkington, and sometimes like James Thurber. It is also something like the biography of Thomas A. Edison. A website about this book can be found at: http://members.aol.com/lhchristen/index.htm

Customer Reviews:

Really Helped.......2007-07-02

My family - both sides (mine and my husband's) are completely dysfunctional. I've over-reacted for years. This book really helped me to understand other personalities, in turn, bringing me closer to my higher power and understanding why I react the way I do. With that knowledge, I can learn to think before I react. I have to learn this or I'll end up in the looney bin. LOL.

Excellent Book.......2006-11-02

This book touched me in more ways than one. It was very enlightening and will be a resource I share with my own counseling clients in the future. It allowed me to see that I can be grateful for my suffering.

Young-Eisendrath Excellent and Helpful Again.......2002-11-30

One of my all time favorite psychology books is the author's "Women and Desire." This more recent book has a more pratical, how to help yourself live better, focus. I find her message insightful and helpful in the face of stress and challenges. Her underlying message is spriritual, in both the Jungian and the Buddhist sense, yet the applied psychology here also reminds me of the concept of 'social interest' advanced by the great, and greatly neglected, psychologist Alfred Adler. You don't need to be religious to appreciate and benefit from Young-Eisendrath, and the same is true, perhaps more so, for Adler's books on social interest and human life.

It changed my life!.......2000-06-24

Simply, this book changed my life. More importantly, its message of service to others changed my life. Doing for others is what heals.

Highly recommended.......1999-12-30

Excellent, helpful, and well-written. Of special interest to those interested in Buddhism. Definitely not in the same vein as the usual pain management fare. I keep waiting for the author's next book.

The Resilient Spirit: Transforming Suffering into Insight and Renewal

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The Resilient Spirit: Transforming Suffering into Insight and Renewal
Polly Young-Eisendrath
Manufacturer: Addison Wesley Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OLIPJS

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Parmigiano!: 50 New & Classic Recipes With Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese
Pamela Sheldon Johns
Manufacturer: Ten Speed Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Cheese & Dairy | Cooking by Ingredient | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Sandra Betzina Sews for Your Home: Pillows Window Treatments Slipcovers Table Coverings Kids' Accessories
Sandra Betzina
Manufacturer: Taunton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Sewing | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Sandra Betzina | Expert Advice | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Sewing Stylish Home Projects: Over 30 Accessories for Your Home

Power Sewing: New Ways to Make Fine Clothes Fast

ASIN: 1561584460
Release Date: 2002-08-15

Book Description

Best-selling author Sandra Betzina has teamed with interior designer Debbie Valentine to produce a home decorating book that is stylish and appealing. This book includes dozens of projects for sewers that can be personalized to suit every taste and skill level, along with complete step-by-step instructions for every project and more than 400 color photos and illustrations. Betzina is renowned in the sewing world, and this is the next installment in her line of very successful sewing books.

Customer Reviews:

a great series of books.......2007-07-05

I love this series of books. The book is small but full of insight and thoughtful,helpful examples of somewhat common situations with a 3 year old. What I really like about all of these books (understanding your 1 yr old,...2 yr old...) is that there is a great deal of respect given to the child as well as the parent, which somehow strikes me as different from many other books for parenting. I hope that I can find all the proceeding years of books in this series as my son gets older. I would love to own a whole series someday. This would be a great gift for new parents, exp the 1 yr old edition.

Understanding Your One-Year-Old: The Tavistock Clinic (Understanding Your Child Series)

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Understanding Your One-Year-Old: The Tavistock Clinic (Understanding Your Child Series)
Sarah G. Gustavus-Jones
Manufacturer: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Developmental Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Household Hints | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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Baby Talk / Parent Talk : Understanding Your Baby's Body Language

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Highly Recommended!

Baby Talk / Parent Talk : Understanding Your Baby's Body Language
M.D. Sirgay Sanger
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

ASIN: 0385267762
Release Date: 1990-12-01

Customer Reviews:

Highly Recommended!.......2005-11-05

At 160 pages this is a wonderful book. The first fifteen pages explain how to read your baby's signals and such. Almost every page of the rest of the book has photos - big ones! Each page is labled at the top as to what is being expressed by the infant and there is a description for each photograph. It is separated into sections by age. It is amazing the wide range of things a baby can express. Occassionally there is a series of photos showing the progression of mood on a baby's face. For instance, the initial caution of a baby shown a new stuffed animal, to being interested in it, to smiling in delight.

Also, insights are offered. For instance, "A smile can indicate not only happiness, but also a release of tension, the end of doubt."

I found it most useful to learn that a yawn doesn't necessarily mean sleepiness. It could mean that they have had too much stimulation and want a less intense activity.

This book has helped us "read" our baby better. It has been a delight. Highly recommended.

Understanding Your Newborn & Infant: A Multimedia Guide for Parents on Childcare and Development from Newborn Through One Year of Age with DVD (Simply Parenting)

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Highly Recommended
Not very helpful
Simply wonderful
A must have for all new parents!
The Only Book You Need

Understanding Your Newborn & Infant: A Multimedia Guide for Parents on Childcare and Development from Newborn Through One Year of Age with DVD (Simply Parenting)
Mary Ann LoFrumento
Manufacturer: Simply Parenting
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

A multimedia guide for parents on childcare and development from newborn through one year of age. Written and produced by a pediatrician, the book offers parents the basic information that they need in a well-organized format. Each book comes with a DVD that complements the book's chapters on infant

Customer Reviews:

Highly Recommended.......2007-05-16

When I had my daughter I read this book immediately. It was very useful. Dr. Lofromento helps to keep it all simple. Her advice is reassuring, easy and direct. I highly recommmend this to any first time parent!

Not very helpful.......2007-05-12

This book is so basic and limited that it's really not all that useful. The entries are EXTREMELY brief (a paragraph or two) for most topics - which means that I can't imagine anybody really using this book as a reference without another book to back it up.

Maybe if you're just looking for a very basic, quick read, it might be useful. But in general it's pretty lacking.

Simply wonderful.......2006-05-22

This is the information that I want the parents of my patients to have! Dr LoFrumento has achieved her goal in creating a very useful tool for new parents- no gimmicks- just plain old medically sound up-to-date information. I wish I could afford to give a copy to each newborn that I see in my practice! I do know it will be part of the my "signature" baby shower gift basket!

A must have for all new parents!.......2005-05-14

As a first time parent I was absolutely clueless as what to expect with the birth of my son. My husband and I felt overwhelmed with the information thrown at us at the hospital regarding his care. Simply Parenting helped us get through the tough weeks in the beginning by answering our questions and calming our fears. This book is easy to read and provides the information that you really need to know regarding your child. The DVD is quite entertaining and informative. Now that our son is 3 months old we use the Simply Parenting book and DVD so that we know what to expect in the upcoming months. I definately recommond this book to all new parents. It's a lifesaver!!!

My best friend is expecting her first child in October and I can't think of any better gift than Simply Parenting.

The Only Book You Need.......2005-02-16

I am the proud Mom of a 5-month-old baby girl. When we first brought her home from the hospital, we, like most new parents, had so many unanswered questions and turned to the "experts" for guidance. After just a few weeks, my husband and found ourselves so confused and overwhelmed by all of the conflicting opinions and information that we decided to pack up all of the parenting books EXCEPT for Simply Parenting and listen to that voice alone. Dr. MaryAnn is clear, easy-to-understand and just spot on. An indispensable resource for any parent!

Understadning Your Baby: The Tavistock Clinic (Understanding Your Child Series)

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A Good Start

Understadning Your Baby: The Tavistock Clinic (Understanding Your Child Series)
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Manufacturer: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Developmental Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Customer Reviews:

A Good Start.......2007-02-02

This is the first book that I have read concerning babies.

As a father to be, I found the book light reading. Having only 79 pages help! A concise outline on various growing stages of the baby and what to expect are provided. The best part is the author provided an insight into the psychological feeling of both the babies and the parents with clear examples.

Although the book is brief, it provides a good starting point!

Understanding Your 4 Year-Old (Understanding Your Child - the Tavistock Clinic Series)

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Understanding Your 4 Year-Old (Understanding Your Child - the Tavistock Clinic Series)
Lisa Miller
Manufacturer: Warwick Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1894020049

Understanding Your 5 Year-Old (Understanding Your Child - the Tavistock Clinic Series)

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Understanding Your 5 Year-Old (Understanding Your Child - the Tavistock Clinic Series)
Lesley Holditch
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Baby on Board: Understanding What Your Baby Needs

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Baby Wisdom

Baby on Board: Understanding What Your Baby Needs
Dr. Howard Chilton
Manufacturer: Finch Publishing
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This reassuring medical guide to tackling the first nine months of parenthood discusses important issues that require parental decisions and describes the evolutionary background to the needs of babies. Issues explored include breastfeeding, circumcision, colic, immunization, SIDS, postnatal depression, and sleeping with a baby. Intriguing research into babies' senses and what they can perceive is also presented. The informative and engaging advice throughout will help parents avoid panic and achieve a rewarding relationship with their newborn.

Customer Reviews:

Baby Wisdom.......2003-09-30

This is an excellent and easy to use book about babies and parenthood. Dr Chilton's wisdom is accessible and his approach to children and child-rearing is both refreshing and reassuring.
I found this book to be a trusty source of information and a valuable guide to everything to do with babies.
Finally a book that speaks to real people with real babies!!!

Comprendiendo a Tu Bebe/ Understanding Your Baby (Nueva Clinica Tavistock/ New Tavistock Clinic)

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Comprendiendo a Tu Bebe/ Understanding Your Baby (Nueva Clinica Tavistock/ New Tavistock Clinic)
Sophie Boswell
Manufacturer: Paidos Iberica Ediciones S a
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Comprendiendo a Tu Hijo De 1 Ano/ Understanding Your 1 Year Old (Clinica Tavistock)

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Comprendiendo a Tu Hijo De 1 Ano/ Understanding Your 1 Year Old (Clinica Tavistock)
Deborah Steiner
Manufacturer: Ediciones Paidos Iberica
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General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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Amazon.com

The author of four volumes of verse, Peter Balakian writes with the precision of a poet and the lyricism of a privileged suburban child in 1950s New Jersey. He is shadowed by his relatives' carefully guarded memories of past trauma: the brutal Turkish extermination in 1915 of more than a million Armenians, including most of his maternal grandmother's family. Balakian seamlessly interweaves personal and historical material to depict one young man's reclamation of his heritage and to scathingly indict the political forces that conspired to sweep under the rug the 20th century's first genocide.

Book Description

The first-born son of his generation, Peter Balakian grew up in a close, extended family, sheltered by 1950s and '60s New Jersey suburbia and immersed in an all-American boyhood defined by rock 'n' roll, adolescent pranks, and a passion for the New York Yankees that he shared with his beloved grandmother. But beneath this sunny world lay the dark specter of the trauma his family and ancestors had experienced--the Turkish government's extermination of more than a million Armenians in 1915, including many of Balakian's relatives, in the century's first genocide.

In elegant, moving prose, Black Dog of Fate charts Balakian's growth and personal awakening to the facts of his family's history and the horrifying aftermath of the Turkish government's continued campaign to cover up one of the worst crimes ever committed against humanity. In unearthing the secrets of a family's past and how they affect its present, Black Dog of Fate gives fresh meaning to the story of what it means to be an American.

Customer Reviews:

Sad story, but a real one.......2006-12-20

The story of the author's grandmother is the same as the story my grandmother told me. Yes, her entire family was killed by the Turks. As a small child, I attended the Armenain school where all of us would compare stories as to how our grandparents survived the death marches. It is a very nice story that tells about history, a history that is kept hidden for many political reasons. Until the world fully ackhowledges what happened to the Armenians, and punishes the Turks, many more genocides and attorcities will take place. After all, if the Turks can get away with the torture, killing, rapes, and genocide (while countries such as the United States let them get away with it), then other similar regimes will committ similar attorcities.
I storngly recommend this book.

"Black Dogof Fate" Is a Fuzzy Grey Beast at Best .......2005-05-24

Peter Balakian's book, "Black Dog of Fate," tries to be too many things
and sadly fails at many of them. In essence, it is an attempt to tell a
sort of Armenian-American story which I find not overly interesting or
compelling. I wish the author had done a bit more in-depth work to learn
about his people and their rich heritage before embarking to represent it
or explain it or share it with non-Armenians, for he has much more to absorb
and understand himself first. I find the Armenianness in this book to be
tentative, unengaged and unconvincing. Pity, since the author seems to
have a lot of passion in his pursuit of other aspects of his life such as
football, the Yankees, modern poetry, and exposing Turkish attempts to
buy (among others) Princeton professors to act as mouthpieces giving
legitimacy to their vile historical revisionism, practiced by the
"modern" Turkish state and its organs.

It seems to be all the rage these days to elevate personal histories and
family testimonials into the realm of fiction and novels. The "I" and "we"
and "us" occupy center stage and the reader is invited to enjoy the
intimacy that must surely be in place via this artifice. But is it realy?
Since in order to make this legitimate, the writer must distance himself,
at least initially, from all this old world exotica, and like the reader,
question their validity or relevance in present day North American
society. What are all these old world, old fashioned ghosts and traditions?,
is the first cry of writer and reader alike, only, ofcourse, to be followed
by a sharp bank turn where the writer steers the satisfied and in-place
reader towards the opposite viewpoint wherein *this* culture and *this*
lifestyle become suspect in light of some tentative spotting of cultural
wealth that has been traded in or abandoned in order to swim swiftly towards
materialistic, memory-free, self-redefining, "comfort" seeking and buying
mores.

In the Balakian tale, one encounters suburbia instead of substance,
worldly goods acquisition instead of deep roots that steady the soul,
immediate family and relatives running away from their true identities either
towards surrealism, the abstract and unemotional, or else towards medicine,
respectability and detachment. Young Balakian observes but never
understands "the grandmother" for she is shielded culturally from being
able to reach him by her very offsprings who can not and will not instill
the Armenian identity he will eventually seek but never quite find. Their
crime is self-denial and a march to the tune of America's mixmaster
piper. "Be unlike your past and your future will be brighter," seems to be
what America promises, at the very least. The intermediate generation listens
and adopts this credo and Peter is left to find out but never quite
understand just what cost his ancestors have paid to remain Armenian and
to preserve our culture before the final denials on New Jersey pateos while
enjoying, as if to serve sweet irony, full course Armenian meals and the
mixing aromas of delicacies from the old country every Sunday.

Peter is lost alright, but as the book sadly shows, he remains lost.
Paraphrasing or quoting Ambassador Morgenthau does not an Armenian genocide
expert make. Personal family testimonials of the Turkish atrocities does
not a genocide history make (For that, read Vahakn Dadrian's "The History
of the Armenian Genocide" Berghahn Books, 1995). Episodic accounts can be
dismissed by the Turks as hear-say and as mere isolated incidents, leading
to more harm than good (for if better evidence existed, the arguement
goes, why would anyone resort to such flimsy fare?). For the story to have
worked, for the story to have *really* worked, as I would have liked it to,
Balakian's life and lifestyle would have had to have changed
significantly and his child rearing practices would have had to reflect
it, and his relationship with his wife who, like him, is not leading a strongly
Armenian existence, would have had to have changed, solidifying his roots,
celebrating his new found identity, and nurturing the metamorphosis by
sustained community involvment and grass roots movement participation
which, alas, never appear on the pages of this book. How else to explain
the lack of a turning around of the tide of assimilation to which Balakian
is a grand personal witness, except that the transition has not occured?
The ship of Armenianness sails by Balakian. He is finally aware enough to
be able to identify the ship and wave it goodbye and write about it, but
not resolved enough to climb aboard. That is how the book fails and that is
how his story fails. This is a story of assimilation and loss with a bit of
mid stream self awareness thrown in. For a real story of an Armenian
finding his roots and letting them take root in his own life and future,
read Mark Arax's book, "In my Father's Name (Simon & Schuster, 1996),"
where the transition is real and the early youth of disaffection is
replaced by a profound adoption of our essence revealed in exquisite
frankness and power by Mark Arax. One can only hope that Balakian's
partial reorientation towards our culture and traditions and essence will
somehow continue and that some day he will wish to live with a more meaningful
attachment to our cause and needs than merely as an able observer (not
withstanding his laudible actions as an April 24th -- Armenian genocide
commemoration speaker and an exposer of Turkish infiltration in the US
academic arena by buying spokesmen turned professors who mascarade as
unbiased researchers). This criticism I direct to the predecessor of this
genre of American Armenian writing first and to Balakian second. I speak
here of "passage to Ararat" by Michael Arlen (Hungry Mind republication,
1996) where a disinterested soit-disant Armenian goes to Armenia in the
70's and by the end of the short trip is somewhat more closely touched by
this strange people's woes and dreams. Too little, too late, and always
detached, is all I can say to these meagre displays of ethnic or cultural
reorientation. Much more needs to be absorbed before the essence is
transmitted to future generations to take and behold.

However, I remain hopeful that future transformatory stories and ethnic
identity survival stories *will be* written which will show that the tide
of assimilation and cultural abandonment are not the only outcome of this
experiment of transplanting peoples and cultures to this continent we
proudly call our home.

"AFTER LONG SILENCE".......2004-12-07

'Speech after long silence; it is right...'-William Butler Yeats

I have had this line from Yeats' poem in my mind as I've been reflecting on the contents of this book by Peter Balakian written in 1997. (This book was rated one of the best books of 1997 by the LA Times, Publisher's weekly and Library Journal.) I've read about Armenian history as I made many acquaintances of Armenians in the Boston area where I lived. I've put off reading this book because I thought the information would not be new since I've read The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, Balakian's 2003 book The Burning Tigris, and Bat Ye'Or's book Islam and Dhimmitude. However, I loved this book even though some of the same information is found in The Burning Tigris. This book is different however. The Burning Tigris is history, The Black Dog of Fate is personal history of great relevance for today. It's a memoir of not only Balakian's life, but also his family's life during his lifetime and their past before he was born. The book is divided into 6 sections. The first three are devoted to his grandmother, his mother, his father. The last 3 cover his gradual understanding of his ancestors' trials and tribulations, their ancient history. Armenia was the first nation to embrace christianity as their official religion in the third century. An editor of Josephus notes that an early church father and mystic, Moses Chorensis, wrote that a tribe of jews designated Bagratidae migrated to Armenia during the time of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, the time of the destruction of Solomon's temple in 586 B.C. Although his family never talked about the genocide, he became curious by the very circumstances of his family. He never knew his grandfathers. He later comes to realize that his grandfathers suffered the common fate of many Armenian men during the Great War (WWI). The turkish gendarmes in charge of "protecting" the Armenians during their forced march routinely shot Armenian men in the back of the head killing them instantly. Other Armenian men attempted to disguise themselves as women to foil the Turks' bloody target practice. When his father suggested to him that he do a school report on Armenia, he chose to write about Turkey because he could not find any information about Armenia.

His fondest memories were of his grandmother telling him stories which began with the Armenian "djamangeen gar oo chagar", in English, there was and there wasn't. One of her stories was an Armenian parable about a poor woman and her black dog offering to God probably modeled after Christ's parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. Her stories are similar to any immigrant to America from their old, peasant countries. Peter Balakian was a second generation American; his parents were adamant that their children live as Americans, yet their Armenian culture is distinctive and is not totally erased by embracing the American one. Many Americans should be able to relate to this in some way since nearly all of our ancestors were immigrants at some time.

Peter Balakian is an English Professor at Colgate University, his aunt at Columbia University, both of whom also write poetry. Being able to write about history and making it interesting is not an easy task; I was impressed by his writing in The Burning Tigris, he kept my attention the whole time. I highly recommend this book and I highly recommend this book for book clubs in that the subject matter is very relevant to today, Armenia's history instructive in so many ways.

'Speech after long silence; it is right...'. The Armenian genocide happened almost 100 years ago, his grandmother one of the survivors. He comes to realize that for her to have spoken openly about it was probably much to much painful for her. He finds out later from his aunts that following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, her psyche was set into a tailspin. She suffered a nervous breakdown. That act of terrorism too much like the violence that she lived through. Strangely, the Turkish government today cannot come to terms with the truth about events of 1915 and goes so far as to influence governments and Ivy League Universities by contradicting the massive documentary evidence that exists confirming the atrocities and claiming that there is another side of the story that needs to be told. However, there is not much to discuss when you see mounds of bodies, women and innocent children, with an armed man capped with a blood-red pillbox hat standing right by. Strange that they cannot speak the truth, one hundred years later.

An Average Book/An Important Story.......2004-07-03

Until the end of our days, we will hurt each other for no reason. Hate our neighbors because they exist. Kill strangers without conscience. Why? Because we're barbaric? Are we naturally predisposed to evil deeds in order to keep the population boom in hand? Why in the world should I ever have to come across a story that chronicles the unknown hatred of one civilization to another? I should not have had to read this book because the reason for it written should never have happened.

Black slavery is the second-most despicable atrocity the United States has ever known. I say second-most because at least most lives of black people were spared so that this country could be built on the strength of their backs. No, the worst thing to happen to America was the inhuman treatment and near total destruction of the Native Americans.

Everybody knows the story.

No act of horror is more documented than the Jews being decimated at the hands of Nazi cavemen. Misguided into thinking that they were elite. Bombings, horrible experiments, endless gunfire, starvation, gas chambers, ovens made for cooking...people. A blight on the face of a planet replete with a history of destruction and malicious intent.

Maybe you've heard of it.

But "Black Dog Of Fate" tells another version of terror and hate. It's a story you've heard a thousand times but from the mouth of a different victim. Another voice. It very vividly tells us about the Armenian genocide, allegedly at the hands of the Turkish government. What begins as a memoir about young Balakian growing up in an Armenian family, yet doing his darnedest to stay waist-deep in the pool of Americana, becomes a quest of an adult Peter searching for his roots. The lives and deaths of his people.

To this day the Turks deny that they almost wiped out an entire civilization and I'm no one to argue here nor there. But the evidence, the painful words from those who were there, that escaped - it's like a whirlwind of torment to the ears and eyes of those who will listen and learn. But nobody knows anything about this stain on humanity because very few victims lived to tell about it and literally none of the suspects will atone for their crimes.

This is one of many novels that will endear and enlighten. My only real gripes are that it becomes a tad preachy (though it hardly cannot be) and it's two stories, two tones in the same book. It starts out a little happy-go-lucky. Somewhat light-hearted and sometimes funny for the first half. Then, things take a 180 and it's all out depressing. The entire second half of the book is killing and shooting and stealing and just plain bleak. Sometimes life has to be that way but as a reader it was a bit overwhelming.

And it's supposed to be. Lucky me. I just read it. Too many people lived it. You read it too. And talk about it. Because not enough people know.

beautiful memoir.......2003-06-17

This is a wonderful book, it made me cry, one of the best memoirs I have read and I highly recomend it.

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Black Dog of Fate
Peter Balakian
Manufacturer: BANTAM DOUBLEDAY @ DELL
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000Q1JTH8

Black Dog of Fate: An American Son Uncovers His Armenian Past. (book reviews): An article from: ETC.: A Review of General Semantics

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Black Dog of Fate: An American Son Uncovers His Armenian Past. (book reviews): An article from: ETC.: A Review of General Semantics
Martin H. Levinson
Manufacturer: International Society for General Semantics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from ETC.: A Review of General Semantics, published by International Society for General Semantics on March 22, 1998. The length of the article is 424 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Black Dog of Fate: An American Son Uncovers His Armenian Past. (book reviews)
Author: Martin H. Levinson
Publication: ETC.: A Review of General Semantics (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1998
Publisher: International Society for General Semantics
Volume: v55 Issue: n1 Page: p112(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Book Description

Who was Nehama Leibowitz?

This question is thoroughly and lovingly explored in Tales of Nehama, by Lea Abramowitz. The result is a fascinating, in-depth exploration of a leading bible scholar, and renowned and revered teacher. Through hundreds of anecdotes and memories, told by Leibowitz's students, colleagues and friends, Tales of Nehama outlines Leibowitz's profound personal impact on thousands of people, and on Jewish learning and biblical criticism.

Nehama Leibowitz had requested only one word to be inscribed on her tombstone: `teacher'. This comprehensive volume details her personal qualities that contributed to her outstanding success as an educator - her devotion to people and acts of kindness, her modesty, her tolerance and openness to all, and her sense of humor. But Tales of Nehama goes further, to explore Leibowitz's teaching methods, in which actualization and entertaining played a major role.

From an intimate analysis of her character and beliefs - her stand on feminism and Zionism, her views on Hareidim, the secular world, and on education - to the central chapter, which recounts dozens of `Tales of Nehama', concise, true stories that serve to outline the tremendous impact and inner workings of this great scholar, Tales of Nehama also comprises comprehensive sections exploring many aspects of her intellectual endeavors. These include her studies of the weekly Torah portions; an appraisal of her teaching methods; a review of her pedagogical approach; her commentaries on certain Psalms; her essay entitled "Active Learning in the Teaching of History"; an exchange of letters between Nehama Leibowitz and Professor Hugo Bergman, portraying a fascinating dialogue between two very brilliant and committed Jewish scholars; and a section exploring published articles that recognize Leibowitz's unique contribution to Jewish thought and study.

Tales of Nehama not only answers the question "Who was Nehama Leibowitz?." but also creates a vivid portrayal of a genius whose impact on Judaism was unparalleled, and will reverberate for generations to come.

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