Rating: 
Summary: A Literary Feast
Review: Webb paints with words and whether he's slashing with bold descriptions of events or touching up with loving human frailties, you know you're always going to end up with a treasured and honest portrait. Lost Soldiers is another of his extraordinarily entertaining and informative novels, full of rich, memorable characters in a country few have experienced to the depth he has. And through it all, the reader is riveted to a plot that rivals any contemporary 'Who done it'. I love books and this one was a literary feast for me. But now I'm starving for his next one.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Look at Modern-day Vietnam
Review: What a delightful book! Webb has given us a look at a Vietnam that we can only experience through a book like this. It is a work of fiction, of course, but it reads like non-fiction. The descriptions of Saigon, Bangkok, Moscow and Honolulu are as sharp and realistic as in any well-written travel guide.The characters are well-drawn and robust, and in Dzung and Professor Muir the author has created top-notch supporting players for Brandon Condley, the ex-Marine lieutenant who is the main character. The plot works well given the setting and the characters. and the book holds the reader's interest right through the last page. Some of the outcomes are a little stretched, but none farfetched. This is a book about (and by) a man who loves Vietnam and the Vietnamese people. It is also a most pleasant reading experience.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible authenticity
Review: When the last CH-46 helicopter lifted off the Saigon Embassy rooftop at dawn on April 30, 1975, America had closed the book on Vietnam. Thousands of men like Dzung were rounded up for labor and re-educated camps for years. Their spirit and voice drowned amid Vietnam's attempt at recovery after years of war. Back in the States, U.S. veterans silently worked their way back to sanity and mainstream. A few never forgot the country, the people and the South Vietnamese soldiers abandoned on the battlefield. Jim Webb is the first novelist to offer a glimpse of a "reeducated" man and the biggest sufferers of the Vietnam tragedy -- those from the South who were left behind. No American knows Vietnam better and no one loves it more than Jim. When I read "The Quiet American" in Saigon upon my 1995 return to my hometown after 20 years in America, I thought I had read the best. Lost Soldiers exceeds that fine work in many ways. Today's Vietnam and its people come alive through the pages and Condley's love for the country is authentic albeit reflective of Jim's work in real life to help release many of those "reeducated" soldiers. This novel belongs on the bookshelves of those who are curious about what happened to South Vietnam, its people and soldiers on both sides long after the last shot is fired and the aging politicians have expressed their remorse. It moves beyond America's obsession with itself after the war. Semper fi!
Rating: 
Summary: The Arabat, Moscow, Russia...
Review: While one reviewer claims, "The descriptions of Saigon, Bangkok, Moscow and Honolulu are as sharp and realistic as in any well-written travel guide," I challenge that reviewer or any reader to locate "The Arabat" in Moscow. The boldface titular error in the prologue should read, "The Arbat." While there is much to recommend Lost Soldiers, such sloppiness mars the work. Is a reader asking too much of a well-paid, lauded author, his editor and his publisher to ensure that place names are correctly spelled? At the very least, they owe such accuracy to the innocents who expose their identities in promotional blurbs on the dust jacket: Colonel David Hackworth (Ret.), Senator John McCain, W.E. B. Griffin, James Bradley, Walter Anderson, Senator Robert Kerrey, and James Brady.
Rating:
Summary: WOW, a masterpiece, all the earmarks of a "Best Seller"
Review: WOW - what book did "Anchorage, AK" read? After finishing this book, I could not wait to way in with my thoughts. I first became a James Webb fan with "Fields of Fire". I am not of his generation but I knew instantly that I was hooked on this writer as I finished that book and was left with a real sense of loss. His vivid details of the war and the culture of Viet Nam captured me and left me with a desire to learn more. He has again captured me with "Lost Soldiers" as I felt like I have picked up 40 years later with the Viet Namese culture, with out missing a beat. My urge to learn was more than satisfied. I felt as though I was in Viet Nam with Brandon Condley. I felt the sadness and loneliness of the limited life of his cyclo driver, Dzung. The political manuverings of all the chess pieces (characters) was riveting and you know that all this was written with a great deal of accuracy. The plot is fresh and the insight into the history and culture of Viet Nam made Condley leap off the pages as he introduces you to unforgettable characters. How can you not feel for Condley and his sense of love for Viet Nam? I could vividly see Van, Colonel Pham's daughter. A beautiful women who can taste her freedom but is torn by her deep sense of love for her culture and heritage. A product of her past and Viet Nam's present. Colonel Pham is a well written character who's past combined with his current activities had me craving to know more of the inner workings of the government. As a side note, the good humor of Condley's sidekick, Professor Muir, is classic Webb. This war hero sprinkles humor in all of his books (something I have always wanted to see more of) and does not dissappoint you here. Muir is a classic, a wonderful break from the tension that Webb creates in this powerful, beautifully written novel. Highly recommend, has all the earmarks of a "National Best Seller" - Enjoy the read!
Rating:
Summary: WOW, a masterpiece, all the earmarks of a "Best Seller"
Review: WOW - what book did "Anchorage, AK" read? After finishing this book, I could not wait to way in with my thoughts. I first became a James Webb fan with "Fields of Fire". I am not of his generation but I knew instantly that I was hooked on this writer as I finished that book and was left with a real sense of loss. His vivid details of the war and the culture of Viet Nam captured me and left me with a desire to learn more. He has again captured me with "Lost Soldiers" as I felt like I have picked up 40 years later with the Viet Namese culture, with out missing a beat. My urge to learn was more than satisfied. I felt as though I was in Viet Nam with Brandon Condley. I felt the sadness and loneliness of the limited life of his cyclo driver, Dzung. The political manuverings of all the chess pieces (characters) was riveting and you know that all this was written with a great deal of accuracy. The plot is fresh and the insight into the history and culture of Viet Nam made Condley leap off the pages as he introduces you to unforgettable characters. How can you not feel for Condley and his sense of love for Viet Nam? I could vividly see Van, Colonel Pham's daughter. A beautiful women who can taste her freedom but is torn by her deep sense of love for her culture and heritage. A product of her past and Viet Nam's present. Colonel Pham is a well written character who's past combined with his current activities had me craving to know more of the inner workings of the government. As a side note, the good humor of Condley's sidekick, Professor Muir, is classic Webb. This war hero sprinkles humor in all of his books (something I have always wanted to see more of) and does not dissappoint you here. Muir is a classic, a wonderful break from the tension that Webb creates in this powerful, beautifully written novel. Highly recommend, has all the earmarks of a "National Best Seller" - Enjoy the read!
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