Home to War: A History of the Vietnam Veterans Movement
A former draft resister who felt he had "a moral duty not to fight in Vietnam," Nicosia (Memory Babe: A Critical Biography of Jack Kerouac) interviewed some 600 men who did take part in the war and who then became active in the antiwar movement, or later worked as veterans' advocates. The result, after a decade's worth of work, is this sprawling, politically charged, personality-driven book. Nicosia takes the story beyond the antiwar years, but concentrates on detailed re-creations of the actions, during the war, of antiwar veterans primarily the leaders of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), the often fractious, vehemently antiwar group. Nicosia spins a riveting story at least for the first 300 or so densely packed pages. He clearly empathizes with VVAW leaders such as Jan Barry, Larry Rottman, Scott Camill, Al Hubbard and Ron Kovic (of Born on the Fourth of July fame) all of whom are vividly and compellingly portrayed. And that is the book's main problem, as well as one of its strengths: Nicosia writes with passion, but barely a whit of dispassion, about VVAW's sometimes inspired, sometimes haphazard actions and of the group's turn toward anarchy and ultra-leftist politics, while other, less confrontational Vietnam veterans and groups get short shrift. Long, fine-grained chapters on the Veterans Administration's shameful postwar record on Agent Orange and on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) tell an important story, but won't be for everyone. It's difficult to envision anyone even remotely concerned with the subject reading this deeply informed account without having an opinion about it the mark of an important book. (May 1) Forecast: Nicosia's aim here seems to be as much advocacy as history and he succeeds at both. This book should generate discussion, and consequent sales, as the Bush administration undertakes a review of the military and its compensation packages, particularly since Gulf War syndrome issues are so analogous to those faced by vets exposed to Agent Orange.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.