THE FACE OF SOUTH VIETNAM

As serious as the rest of them but different in tone and mission, this book is neither a polemic nor a disseminator of culture and history. Rather, it is a poignant illustrated essay that touches on the background of the war, but immediately involves itself with the protoplasmic flow of the day-to-day struggle--the dead marine, the face of the enemy, the burden that the Vietnamese civilians have to bear, and the attempts at bringing progress to a hapless and bedeviled region. A reading of the text will kindle anger and frustration and a viewing of the almost 150 gifted and unusual photographs will bring an unwanted intimacy to an involvement that has few friends. The book's importance arises out of its emotional message which also generates extrinsic reflection.