«

Here, at last, is the go-to book on a major, unique, and scandalously neglected feature of the Vietnam War: the organized international movement of American deserters. Paul Benedikt Glatz’s scholarship is meticulous, insightful, and well-balanced. His fluency in several languages allows him to explore—and bring to life—the battles swirling around the deserters in several nations. All future work on the Americans who deserted the Vietnam War will owe a great debt to this invaluable book.

»

H. Bruce Franklin, professor emeritus, Rutgers University; author of Crash Course: From the Good War

«

Today, in the United States, there is a move to whitewash the tragedy, disaster, and criminality of the U.S. war against Vietnam. Vietnam’s Prodigal Heroes shows the viewpoint of soldiers who were actually there, as well as others who were at risk of being sent there and chose to desert. Glatz has left no stone unturned in his efforts to portray a realistic view of deserters, one not often presented to the general public. This book will help to defeat the sanctimonious pronouncements of today’s politicians.

»

Robert Fantina, independent scholar