The Father of All Things Lib/E
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Home > Biographies & Memoire > Biography and non-fiction prose > Memoirs > The Father of All Things Lib/E: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Vietnam
The Father of All Things Lib/E: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Vietnam

The Father of All Things Lib/E: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Vietnam


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About the Book

In his fourth book, journalist and fiction writer Bissell (Chasing the Sea) revisits the much-trodden territory of the Vietnam War to offer a fresh perspective: that of the adult children of the war's veterans. On assignment for GQ magazine, Bissell and his ex-Marine father, John, retrace the elder Bissell's tour of duty through a now mostly peaceful and prosperous Vietnam. The first of the book's three sections narrates the historical leadup to Saigon's fall in 1975, spliced with Bissell's imagined vision of his family on the night Saigon fell (his parents' marriage was rapidly collapsing due to John's postwar trauma and alcoholism). Next comes an exhaustively researched history of the war - including a harrowing retelling of the My Lai massacre, during which civilians were brutally murdered by crazed American soldiers-within the narrative of the father-son trip, aided by Truong and Hien, their entertaining and illuminating Vietnamese tour guides. As Bissell repeatedly presses his father to confess regrets about Vietnam, the two push toward an ambivalent sense of closure on national and personal wounds. A final, less effective, section gathers testimonials from American and Vietnamese veterans' children. This humorous memoir, travelogue and accessible history - the author's most ambitious book - confirms Bissell's status as a rising star of American literature.

About the Author :
Tom Bissell is the author of Chasing the Sea and God Lives in St. Petersburg, and is a contributing editor for Harper's Magazine and The Virginia Quarterly Review. In 2006 he was awarded the Rome Fellowship by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and his work has been selected several times by the Best American Short Stories, Best American Travel Writing, and Best American Science Writing series. Kerin McCue is an audiobook narrator whose readings include Charles Wheelan's Naked Economics, Larry LcMurtry's Horseman, Pass By, Stanley Bing's Rome, Inc, and Tom Bissell's The Father of All Things.

Review :

"A fresh and comprehensive look at the Vietnam era...Bissell's powerful writing forces one to open one's eyes and take in the enormity of the moral abyss."

-- "San Francisco Chronicle"

"Beautifully written...Tom Bissell is superb. His description of today's Vietnam are breathtaking and deep."

-- "Los Angeles Times"

"Big-picture politics take second place to the achingly personal in Bissell's heartfelt book."

-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "

"Haunting...Emotionally powerful...Bissell brings a luminous prose style and, perhaps more important, a clear, fresh eye to events that many of us have allowed to slip into the infuriatingly painful past."

-- "New York Times Book Review"

"McCue is unwavering in his delivery, bringing the realistic touch that this poignant memoir deserves while never coming off as preachy or long-winded. A very personal story with a very international approach."

-- "AudioFile"

"Powerful...Eloquent and in-depth...The Father of All Things is a one-of-a-kind accomplishment."

-- "Washington Post Book World"

"This humorous memoir, travelogue and accessible history--the author's most ambitious book--confirms Bissell's status as a rising star of American literature."

-- "Publishers Weekly"


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Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781664588202
  • Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
  • Publisher Imprint: Recorded Books, Inc.
  • Edition: Unabridged edition
  • Sub Title: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Vietnam
  • ISBN-10: 1664588205
  • Publisher Date: 18 Feb 2007
  • Binding: CD-Audio
  • Language: English


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