"Poisoned Jungle" by James Ballard

Publisher:  Koehler Books
Copyright: 2020
ISBN: 9781646633111

I had the good fortune to read the advance copy of this book. Many reviewers will say things like "Couldn't put it down" and such, but in my case it actually was close to being the truth. Thanks to this silly virus that's messing up everyone lives I got to stay up late and keep reading, as we we're still not allowed to return to full time hours.

The novel itself is definitely engrossing, and brings you right into the life of a combatant during the Vietnam War. You get to experience the horrors of war, and the frustration the soldiers themselves experienced had having to be there. While I've never experienced anything like this myself (and hope I never do) I'm sure their one year tour of duty, likely seemed almost never-ending. When you add to this the way they were treated by their government, and others when they returned it makes you very sympathetic to their plight.

The story takes you through the life of Andy Parks starting in 1969 when he was the medic in the Mekong Delta, and his dream that the seemingly endless war he was living thorough would be over for him when he returned home, but not realising that it would continue for many years afterward. We meet the various members of this unit, and watch as their lives unfold. We get a glimpse of what Andy experienced during his time there, and I'm fairly sure this was somewhat scaled back.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to find out what the life of a veteran is/was like for those who returned from Vietnam. I'm looking forward to James' next book which I've been told is in the works.

"Making It Big in the Movies" by Richard "Jaws" Kiel (1939-2014)

Publisher:Reynolds & Hearn, Ltd. London
Copyright Date:©2002
ISBN: 9781903111901
Characteristics: 240 pages : illustrations, facsimiles, portraits ; 24 cm

This was a very unique look at a very unique actor. Richard Kiel played numerous parts in many movies that required a large person, but didn't reach worldwide fame until the James Bond movies "The Spy Who Loved Me", and "Moonraker". He is the only Bond villain to do a second movie (other repeating characters such as Blofeld were played by different actors).

Mr. Kiel definitely had a interesting life, he was a successful businessman, and was without a doubt a loving and supportive father. His life in Hollywood was unconventional, and at times rather sad as he was typecast into various roles due to his size; mistaken for other actors such as Andre the Giant (Princess Bride), Ted Cassidy (Lurch from the Addams Family), and others.

This books was written in a very easy to read style, and you learn a lot about the inner working of Hollywood, and the motion picture industry. Mr. Kiel also gives out a lot of good advice on how to survive life, in a not-so-fair world. All in all a very good auto-biography.

"Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi

Publisher:New York : Pocket Books, 2010.

ISBN:9781439184219 

Characteristics:383 pages ;,19 cm

"Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi

I read this book after watching the 1990 movie “Goodfellas” by Martin Scorsese which was referenced in the 2013 movie “The Family” by Luc Besson (confused yet?).

The book is the biography of Henry Hill (1943-2012) who joined the Mafia when he was 12, and worked his way up through the ranks. It details his exploits, the jobs he did, how things worked etc. As an unnamed reviewer in Cosmopolitan wrote "'to be a wiseguy was to own the world,' who grew up to live the highs and lows of the mafia gangster's life--has been hailed as "the best book ever written on organized crime."

Eventually his friends became his enemies, and fearing his impending doom he turned states evidence, and was put into the witness protection program. While in this he was visited by the author Nicholas Pileggi.

This book was fantastic and was well worth the read. It too is comparable to “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo, but was much more realistic in the way it was told (likely because it is true—go figure).

Nicholas Pileggi has another book entitle “Casino”which I'm hoping to read in the near future. This too has been made into a movie by Scorsese, which I'm also looking for.