Parthian Shot

I was reading the "I love me" pages yesterday (impressive!)and it struck me that this group would really like "Parthian Shot" by Lloyd Little.

Little was an SF medic in Vietnam. He wrote what I think is the best Vietnam novel, certainly the best novel about Special Forces in that war.

The novel describes an A team (actually half of a team) that has somehow been forgotten by the Army. They are out there working with their indigenous troops, and soon come to realize that being forgotten by the ever-more conventional U.S. military has some advantages.

Little really captures the SF view of the world, the interactions on a team, the creativity and inventiveness of the SF soldier, and the profound, irreconcilable clash between the SF and the conventional military. It is full of lessons about the kind of inter-cultural issues being discussed in SWJ. When you read this book, you should find yourself wishing you were on Lloyd's team. If you don't, well, that would be a very strong indication of a conventional mindset.

Oh yea, the book is really funny, and you will found yourself having to put it down to laugh out loud.

Here is how one Amazon reviewer describes the book:

His book is beautifully satiric and features some seldom-depicted characters of Special Forces legend. Anyone wanting to get a look at how Special Forces used to be when young men still heeded JFK's call should read this. The plot features a team working with the Hao Hao religious minority in Vietnam's Delta region in the early 60's, before the massive influx of U.S. troops. The team has somehow been forgotten by Saigon when the team's higher HQ is rotated back to the states. The team decides to wait and work with the Hoa Hao until the mess is straightened out. In the meantime, the team starts a brassiere and lawn chair factory, commissions a Rand corporation study to look for ways to keep the Hoa Hao out of the fighting, and the team medic (the narrator) is ordained a water-walking saint in the Hoa Hao religion. A howl of a book.

Amazon still has 15 of them. Go for it.

Bill--

Sounds like a good read. Hope that Contra Cross is as well since all the commentary convinced me to order one. I don't know if you remember me after more than 20 years but I met you while you were still a Psyoper and I was a visiting prof at the FAO course and a RC Psyoper. When I went back on active duty in SOUTHCOM, we ran into each other in Honduras after you had gone over to State.

Am looking forward to reading your book.

Cheers

John

I read "Parthian Shot" back in the early '90s. A very good read, and subconciously, I think of it when I am thinking about "how to successfully run a coin campaign."