About This Book

The American war in Vietnam left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. Black recounts how a small group of veterans, scientists, Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partner used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today: one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.