Title: Patches of Fire
First published: December 1, 1996
Description: Patches of Fire is the story of a young man's encounter with a war and with deaths beyond his understanding; of his return to a country torn by racial unrest in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.; and of his painstaking efforts to defeat his inner demons and make a place for himself as a black man in white America.

With a starkness tempered by humor, French brings to life the horrors of Vietnam, and recounts in compelling detail his uneasy tenure as a newspaper photographer, his heady days as publisher of his own magazine, his confrontations with the ghostly images of Vietnam that haunted his dreams - and the sense of renewal and purpose he achieved as a novelist.

The very personal story of French's trials and triumphs, Patches of Fire is also a revealing exploration of the black soldier's experience in Vietnam, the plight of the Vietnam veteran, and the redemptive power of writing.
Subjects: Afro-American men, Afro-Americans, American Authors, American Personal narratives, Authors, American, Biography, Fiction, Personal narratives, American, Veterans, Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975, African American men, African Americans, Vietnam War, 1961-1975, Fiction, war & military
People: Albert French
Time periods: 20th century
LC classification: PS3556.R3948 Z465 1997