Non-fiction; Faith; Secret war Laos 1970; combat photography; personal account; LS 20A; Raven Forward Air Controller; O-1 Bird dog; AT-28D; U17B. Vang Pao; Hmong resistance; Government corruption. We were birds of prey; finding and destroying targets of opportunity and defending allied outposts. We dueled with dragons every day. In a flash of time; at the speed of haste; we pressed forward in the straps to the next battle; knowing many of us would die very young. Living in the present; and sculpting the future as best we could; we did our best to free the oppressed. Allied pilots flew with conspicuous bravery that others could live in Freedom’s dignity; and love in her blessings of peace. Worthy dreams are too often victims of reality; like wilderness and paradise; light and dark; and long life. Ravens shared leaded air and warrior stories. “It feels so good when gunners missâ€. Close Air Support; Guerrilla Warfare. Ambassador's Secret War. USIS; AIRA; ARMA; My Ravens; General Vang Pao. Hmong Freedom Fighters; Robin Scout Translators; Chao Pha Khao Fighter Pilots; Special Guerrilla Unit (SGU); Special Operations; SKY; CAS; Air America; Continental Air; Refugees; USAID; Project 404; Det. 1 56th SOW; DEPCHIEF; RTA; RTAF; RLA; RLAF; RLG; PL; LPLA; NVA; PAVN; ICC; This work is an expression of my experiences as a Raven Forward Air Controller during the secret war in Laos. My window of participation was from December 1969 thru June 1970. This work is about people I knew who risk their life in a fight for the freedom of others and whose lives were twisted and tempered in the crucible of Regional Civil Wars. This is a story of promise; betrayal; and hardship that progressed to a refugee gateway leading to compassion; freedom; education; and prosperity. The Hmong; Lao; Cambodian; Montagnard; and Vietnamese refugees from the Vietnam Area War produced vibrant communities in the United States. The Hmong preserved and learned to adapt to the American system without losing their cultural identity as Hmong or Americans. The Hmong have cleared the path and set the example for new refugees to follow. I hope this work is helpful to many in understanding the Raven’s mission during the Secret war in Laos. This work should be encouraging for war refugees new to America. United Stated military veterans should find goodwill in stories of survival and courage against great odds. "Freedom is not Free."
#266549 in Books Ingramcontent 2017-05-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.30 x 1.20 x 6.40l; #File Name: 0691174601408 pagesThe Origin of the Jews The Quest for Roots in a Rootless Age
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. This book is well-researched and although I don't agree with ...By MaLinda W. McLendonThis book is well-researched and although I don't agree with all of it; it does give a different point of view that I needed to know.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy C. P. Hathaway IIIGreat19 of 20 people found the following review helpful. A book about the history of history: an account of how people have thought about Jewish origins.By SavonarolaBrownRetired for 3 years; I read a lot of nonfiction. Many books are not worth the time to read: either they dumb down the material; or they are too skewed by opinion; poorly reasoned and using highly selective facts. Many other books are poorly written and get lost in the weeds of academics. Rarely do I find myself reading a book which is intelligent; engaging; informative and well reasoned. Steven Weitzman's Origin of the Jews is such a book.Weitzman approaches his material with honest academic caution; weighing different ideas considering their pros and cons and leaving most issues unresolved; rather than accept a theory that remains speculative.He covers six disciplines to show how different fields have approached the subject. Genealogy; linguistics; archaeology; psychology; sociology and genetics. Each get a chapter; presented in a roughly chronological order. He includes insightful cross references; showing how scholarly fields don't develop in isolation.Included in these chapters are summaries of several major theories: Wellhausen and his Documentary Hypothesis; the crucial importance of the Babylonian Exile; Persia and the work of Ezra and Nehemiah; Shaye Cohen and his idea of the role of the Hellenistic age; and Shlomo Sand's work on a modern origin are all covered.There are however some weaknesses. The section on Sigmund Freud seems to me pointless. It could have led to more discussion of origins as illusions; used to support our egos.Also; there are some missing discussions. No mention is made of Mordecai Kaplan who proposed understanding Jewish history as an evolving civilization with notable epochs (biblical; Talmudic; medieval and modern). Jacob Neusner; and his work on the importance of Babylonian/Persian era on the emergence of Jewish rabbinic teachings. And a third scholar whose work would be interesting in the context of Jewish origins is Thomas McEvilley's The Shape of Ancient Thought which investigates connections between Greek and Indian thought and the uncertainty of cross cultural influences.There is also little discussion of similar origin theories in late antiquity studies.Throughout the book; Weitzman clearly presents contemporary ideas of postmodern thinkers like Deleuze and Foucault and nonlinear; non-developmental perspectives which can upset our conventional understanding. This contributes to his discussion of the uncertainty in all these discussions.With all that said; what I appreciated most is Weitzman's honesty in describing the uncertainty in all these subjects. Let me be clear; this is not the typical academic caveats. It certainly reads like a sincere recognition that certainty may evade us; but the discussion can go on.
