A Dragon Lives Forever: War and Rice in Vietnam's Mekong Delta"In June 1969, Tom Hargrove arrived in Vietnam as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army. But he wasn't there just to make war against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese armies; Hargrove was also there to introduce improved rice varieties into the war-torn region." "This unique memoir tells of Hargrove's efforts to improve the everyday lives of the Vietnamese, even as he was calling in B-52 strikes against opposition forces. It also relates the story of his return to Vietnam in 1988 and 1990 to observe the progress of the "Green Revolution" he had helped initiate with the introduction of "miracle rice." In a dramatic twist, his guide on both visits had been a local Viet Cong political officer: a man who could have had Hargrove killed. The rice had improved the lives of the people of the land and preserved the life of Tom Hargrove, though he hadn't known it at the time." "This account of the U.S. Army's attempts to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people - an attempt that failed strategically but ultimately achieved its humanitarian goals - is a vital contribution to the ongoing history and literature of the Vietnam era. Hargrove's dramatic juxtaposition of the sword and the plowshare brings into sharp contrast the paradox of this pivotal time in history."--BOOK JACKET. |
Contents
The Letter the Diary the Novel | 10 |
Let Slip the Dogs or Next Stop Is Vietnam | 23 |
Chuong Thien Province 1988 | 42 |
The Final Chapter | 49 |
220 | 76 |
Chuong Thien Province 1988 | 109 |
Chuong Thien Province 1988 | 130 |
Other Toys | 136 |
A Walking Contradiction | 251 |
Hanoi 1988 | 260 |
My Days Among the Dead are Past | 287 |
IRRI Philippines 1990 | 300 |
We Dont Go There Anymore | 314 |
A Return to the House | 323 |
Ho Chi Minh City 18 May 1990 | 336 |
Ho Chi Minh City 19 May 1990 | 350 |
Chuong Thien Province 1988 | 147 |
Chuong Thien Province 1988 | 177 |
We Happy Few Brothers or We are the Aggies | 186 |
Each Army Hath a Hand | 196 |
A Bridge Over Troubled Waters | 206 |
The Plain of Reeds 1988 | 221 |
The First Casualty or Fighting Soldiers from | 231 |
Hanoi May 1988 | 247 |
Fleeing to the Fall | 356 |
Can Tho 20 May 1990 | 360 |
Chuong Thien Province 21 May 1990 | 378 |
Chuong Thien Province 22 May 1990 | 400 |
The Past Became Our Fate or the Last | 425 |
Would You Do It Again? A Mekong | 439 |
Postscript | 464 |
Copyright | |
Other editions - View all
A Dragon Lives Forever: War and Rice in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, 1969-1991 ... Thomas R. Hargrove No preview available - 1994 |
A Dragon Lives Forever: War and Rice in Vietnam's Mekong Delta Thomas R. Hargrove No preview available - 2003 |