By Mike Jackson and Tara Dixon-EngelPaperback, 6 x 9
304 pages, 13 b/w photos
ISBN: 978-0-7603-3916-9
$17.99 / $19.99 CAN / £14.99
When was the last time a Vietnam memoir truly touched your heart...and made you laugh out loud? Or when did you last read a book or see a film that vividly captured the broad spectrum of human emotions? And how often has one man’s inspirational story made you want to stand up and cheer? Naked In Da Nang does all that...and much more. Few combat memoirs have ever painted a more compelling portrait of the hopes, fears and motivations of the average American GI. Naked In Da Nang successfully reaches out to all branches of the military, all living veterans, and civilian audiences, as well, male and female alike.
Like the wildly successful "We Were Soldiers Once…And Young," Naked In Da Nang is helping to redefine America's perception of her Vietnam veterans. Armed with the biting wit of MASH, the historical accuracy of We Were Soldiers, and the innocent nostalgia of TV’s The Wonder Years, Naked In Da Nang presents a main character who is likeable, sardonic and courageous, usually in spite of himself.
The bitter, brooding, traumatized soldier who finds solace in drugs, alcohol or insanity is not now - and never was - the norm, as underscored by the fundamental decency of Naked In Da Nang. The book's accurate yet warmly colorful portrayal of the Vietnam GI has struck a nerve across America and throughout all branches of the military. In fact, Naked In Da Nang inspired Operation Welcome Home, the nationwide "welcome home" celebration for America's veterans of Southeast Asia, which took place across America in 2005, culminating in a huge Las Vegas, NV event over Veterans' Day weekend last year.
About the Authors
Mike Jackson retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1991 following 23 years on active duty. Formerly, he was executive director of the National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. He and coauthor Tara Dixon-Engel are founders of the American Veterans Institute. Colonel Jackson and Ms. Dixon-Engel live near Dayton.
