Of Rice and Men: A Novel of Vietnam
Richard Galli
Mar 2006 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Paul Michael
5.0star
1 reviewreport
headphones
Audiobook
10 hr 9 min
Unabridged
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
Want a 10 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline.
Add
About this audiobook
Spreading democracy takes more than cutting-edge military hardware. Winning the hearts and minds of a troubled nation is a special mission we give to bewildered young soldiers who can’t speak the native language, don’t know the customs, can’t tell friends from enemies, and–in this wonderfully outrageous Iraq-era novel about Vietnam–wonder why they have to risk their lives spraying peanut plants, inoculating pigs, and hauling miracle rice seed for Ho Chi Minh.
Brash, eye-opening, and surprisingly comic, Of Rice and Men displays the same irreverent spirit as the black-comedy classics Catch-22 and MASH–as it chronicles the American Army’s little known “Civil Affairs” soldiers who courageously roam hostile war zones, not to kill or to destroy, but to build, to feed, and to heal. Unprepared, uncertain, and naive, they find it impossible to make the skeptical population fall in love with them.
But it’s thrilling to watch them try.
Among the unforgettable characters: Guy Lopaca, an inept Army-trained interpreter who can barely say “I can’t speak Vietnamese” in Vietnamese, but has no trouble chatting with stray dogs and water buffalo. Guy’s friends include “Virgin Mary” Crocker, a pragmatic nurse earning a fortune spending nights with homesick soldiers; Paul Gianelli, a heroic builder of medical clinics who doesn’t want to be remembered badly, so he never goes home; and Tyler DeMudge, whose cure for every problem is a chilly martini, a patch of shade, and the theory that every bad event in life is “good training” for enduring it again.
Pricelessly funny, disarming, thought-provoking, as fresh as the morning headlines, and bursting with humor, affection, and pride, Of Rice and Men is a sincere tribute to those young men and women, thrust into our hearts-and-minds wars, who try to do absolute good in a hopeless situation.
Brash, eye-opening, and surprisingly comic, Of Rice and Men displays the same irreverent spirit as the black-comedy classics Catch-22 and MASH–as it chronicles the American Army’s little known “Civil Affairs” soldiers who courageously roam hostile war zones, not to kill or to destroy, but to build, to feed, and to heal. Unprepared, uncertain, and naive, they find it impossible to make the skeptical population fall in love with them.
But it’s thrilling to watch them try.
Among the unforgettable characters: Guy Lopaca, an inept Army-trained interpreter who can barely say “I can’t speak Vietnamese” in Vietnamese, but has no trouble chatting with stray dogs and water buffalo. Guy’s friends include “Virgin Mary” Crocker, a pragmatic nurse earning a fortune spending nights with homesick soldiers; Paul Gianelli, a heroic builder of medical clinics who doesn’t want to be remembered badly, so he never goes home; and Tyler DeMudge, whose cure for every problem is a chilly martini, a patch of shade, and the theory that every bad event in life is “good training” for enduring it again.
Pricelessly funny, disarming, thought-provoking, as fresh as the morning headlines, and bursting with humor, affection, and pride, Of Rice and Men is a sincere tribute to those young men and women, thrust into our hearts-and-minds wars, who try to do absolute good in a hopeless situation.
Ratings and reviews
5.0
1 review
Mia K
- Flag inappropriate
- Show review history
November 25, 2021
My all time favorite audiobook. I heard it maybe 8 years ago and regularly recommend it.
About the author
Richard Galli was a member of GIs for Peace, learning Vietnamese at the Defense Language Institute in El Paso, Texas, when the brand-new draft lottery assigned the call-up number "330" to his birthday. A lucky draw would have required his entry into the armed forces only if the North Vietnamese had established a beachhead in California. He wasn't so lucky. For more than 20 years Galli was a litigator in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1999, he closed his law office so that he could spend more time at home helping to care for his son, who had become paralyzed in a swimming accident on the Fourth of July, 1998. Galli's first book, Rescuing Jeffrey, is an unconventional memoir about the first ten days following the accident.
Paul Michael is a stage, screen, and television actor of international status. His TV credits include leading roles in a number of British sitcoms. He has acted onstage in plays ranging from Macbeth to The Wizard of Oz.
Paul Michael is a stage, screen, and television actor of international status. His TV credits include leading roles in a number of British sitcoms. He has acted onstage in plays ranging from Macbeth to The Wizard of Oz.
Rate this audiobook
Tell us what you think.
Listening information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
