"Hanoi" gets 5***** from Nook reader

Review by: Robert Lawrence on July 03, 2012 :
Rick Fredericksen's firsthand, behind the scenes accounting of the Vietnam MIA/POW issue is fascinating, compelling. and well written. As a Vietnam vet who followed the events covered in his book, I was surprised at how much I had forgotten, but he brought it all back to life, while providing a multitude of fascinating details and background heretofore unknown to me and no doubt to most Americans.

I can think of no other newsman who could have taken us back in time to those historic years when both official and unofficial efforts were being made in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos to account for more than 2,000 Americans still missing long after the war ended.

Fredericksen lived and worked in the region and continually traversed those countries with the delegations, covering this epic story with an unsurpassed knowledge and depth and was a constant on the scene unlike some reporters who were in and out of Southeast Asia sporadically. Adding to Fredericksen's credibility is the fact that he is a Vietnam vet who reported on the Vietnam conflict as war news anchor for the American Forces Vietnam Network (AFVN) in old Saigon where I was privileged to serve with him.

In his accounting, Fredericksen masterfully weaves in such historic events as the Tet Offensive, the My Lai Massacre, and the courageous Vietnamese (known as the Boat People) who risked their lives in escaping after the fall of South Vietnam..Additionally, he reports on the status of the socialist republic economically, politically, and diplomatically during the long MIA/POW negotiations, providing snapshots of its gradual awakening to the fact that the old communist model had mired Vietnam into a quagmire that only the western world was capable of providing a lifeline toward sustainability.

This is a must-read for Vietnam war vets and POW/MIA families.

Bob Lawrence
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review from Smashwords buyer:

Review by: Hugh Morgan on June 26, 2012 :
Going to war changes everything. Rick Fredericksen, on duty when I knew him at AFVN, Saigon and later in Bangkok with CBS, followed the war and its aftermath with an unparalleled view. For the hundreds of thousands of Americas last conscripted fighters and brave volunteers, here is an accounting of the search for those left behind and the process that led to normalized relations with Vietnam. As in wars before, all participants and those left behind at home or on the battlefield, were changed. Fredericksen describes thoughtfully how American cultlure changed as we gave up as missing our young and brave and, in a sense, inherited the loyalty and culture of Vietnamese who have come to America with their own values for our national melting pot. HM
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

From an Amazon customer

5.0 out of 5 stars How America and Vietnam managed to achieve normal relations after the long bitter war between them ended, June 20, 2012 By Terry A. Hunter - See all my reviews (REAL NAME) Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: After the Hanoi Hilton: An Accounting (Kindle Edition) If you've ever wondered how the United States and Vietnam managed to achieve normal relations, after the long bitter war between the two countries in the 1960's and 70's, Rick Fredericksen provides the answers in this e book. Fredericksen clearly explains the history of the complicated politics involved in gaining the cooperation of the Vietnamese as Americans searched for POW's and MIA's in Southeast Asia. Before reading this book, I had no idea that it was the gradual easing of restrictions on those searches that led to the end of the trade embargo the U.S. had imposed on Vietnam after the war. AFTER THE HANOI HILTON: AN ACCOUNTING offers the refreshing insights of a CBS reporter who was actually based in Southeast Asia during the 1980's and 90's.