American Blood

by John Nichols

Book Overview

Michael Smith survives the Vietnam war only to find himself angry and adrift in a United States at war with itself. Though he cannot forget the pornographic atrocities he witnessed abroad, it is the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805003746
• ISBN13: 9780805003741
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 338 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Nichols masterfully comines the psychological and political

In this book, which combines the psychological, subjective experiences of one Michael P. Smith, Vietnam War veteran, and some poignant insights into political America, John Nichols (not to be confused with the writer for the Nation magazine- though the mistake would be easily made) shows us the evils of war, during and after. Nichol's understanding of the human condition, and the need to expiate our "sins" simply by telling them, simply by having someone to share with, is deftly interwoven into the fabric of very believable and graphic human lives. In an unspoken way, John Treadwell Nichols shows us that the personal is political, and that though we may deny it at certain times in our lives, love is not only the higher ground, but the only ground.

This book contains the most horrific scene I've ever read!

Short and sweet, this is a very intense novel of post Viet Nam angst. A veteran flashes back and forth between the horror of his experience in the war and current day events involving a psychopath who was encouraged to hone his murderous skills in that same war. The protagonist was in the same squad with the killer and it is one of those scenes in Viet Nam that has continued to haunt me to this day. I won't spoil it for anyone by giving details but it may spoil your dinner when you read it. I've never felt the same about pork since. Read this book and you'll know what I mean. Overall, a very good book.