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For awhile, I forgot that your book "What Am I Doing Here?" was just a novel. Of course, we all have different versions and different seats in that conflict (Vietnam). Mine came later, (1968-1969 and 1971-72) but our ages and experience weren't much different (NROTC Vanderbilt), 1966 Pensacola Naval Air right up to 2000 when I retired after many years. My compliments on a well-written novel that had the smells of actual experience and reality. I am a speed-reader BUT could not speed-read your novel. It rang too many bells from the past. I would hope this not be your last book. Too few of these books are coming forward, which even come near the quality read of yours. I want to tell you that “What Am I Doing Here?” is one of the very best I have read and while displayed as a novel, the realism stands out much more than just a joust of the imagination. This is a very difficult book to put down and in cross checking the chapters with my fading knowledge of the subject matter, Jim Kesey has a winner! You make all of us proud... Best wishes, Col. WT White, Ret., USMCR @ Nashville, Tennessee USA Dear Mr. Kesey, I am not sure if you'll read this email, but if you do I send my thanks. A long while back you were at a show signing books and my mom picked up a copy. She told you that I was considering the military and you autographed the book with the message, "Marines take care of their own; go to school and be an officer." The words "Marines take care of their own" has stuck with me more than any advice seems to. As I looked at the other branches of the Armed Services, those words seemed to echo in my brain. As of July 2005 I joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve. I will be a combat engineer based in Eugene, Oregon and I will taking your (among others) advice and attend Western Oregon University for a degree in criminal justice. Your book was spectacular. I have read it several times and enjoy it more and more. It just seems to underline your point that “Marines take care of their own.” The brotherhood of the Marine Corps has inspired me. I've read many books on the military from all era's and all wars, and in the books written by Marines they seem to stick together even without combat bringing them close, and your words always echo in my mind. I hope this email finds you and your family in good health and good fortune. Thank you very much for those words signed in the cover page of my book, they are truly something I will never forget!
Sincerely, Alex Baptiste Silverton, Oregon Read your book - really liked it! You
are a great writer - easy flowing dialog - great humor! The
book held my attention the whole way through - right from the first page.
I didn't want it to end the way it did - I wanted to see what Dusty did
when he got home - and back to his family. When's the sequel coming out???
=) Was brought to tears while reading about the loss of your friends
in the jeep accident on the beach . . .ohmigosh! My Mom is reading your
book now, and is really liking it too! She said she couldn’t put
it down! Thanks for a great story - we really can't even begin to imagine
what actually went on over there, and the stories are horrifying. Thanks
for sharing - I bought the book at the "In the Shadow of the Blade" event in Austin, Texas. You autographed the book for me. I am sure you met many people that day but I can bet you a dime to a donut hole that I was the only one to salute you. I loved the book and I know that it is fiction, however it covers so many of the events that happened while I was at Chu-lai and Da Nang. ---- More ----- "Kesey really tells it like it was. It's refreshing to see
the story told “What Am I Doing Here?” Almost every morning
that I woke up in Vietnam 36 years ago I asked that same question. Over
the years I have read a few books about Vietnam. Most were of soldiers
in the bush going from one fight to another. Kesey didn’t do that.
He gives you a taste of what war was like but he also gives you much more,
what it’s really like. I was stationed about 5 clicks south of Danang at a place called Marble Mountain. So I could relate to the description of the geography and the places like “Dog Patch.”
Dale Surface, Cpl. USMC "Enjoyable. The characters are real, and their lives and
experiences come to life. This is a well-written and intriguing novel,
one of the best I have read on Vietnam." "I laughed. I cried. I was shocked, and touched. I feel that
my knowledge of the Vietnam War has been enlarged." "Captured the heart and spirit of the Marine in Vietnam.
Kesey is the first author that has accurately reported the heart, soul
and spirit of the Marine in Vietnam. His humanistic style, which is neither
political nor judgmental, is refreshing and appreciated." "Any book that can make me cry on one page and make me laugh
on another is a good book." "What Am I Doing Here? is a story that will appeal to women readers
as few war novels can. Marine Lieutenant Dusty Kohl, who despite his proclivity
to drink, comes off as the wide-eyed kid next door. Kohl's experiences
embrace insanity, interwoven with quiet humor." "A really terrific book and I literally read it in just a
few days. It was real and funny at the same time. Kesey has done a great
job in bringing a new and refreshing light to the Vietnam War. "I found that I couldn't put it down until I finished. I
enjoyed the book very much. I read some parts to my husband who was in
Chu Lai but he told me to quit because it hit too close to home for him. |
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