Overview

The imaginative literature of the Vietnam War participates-both overtly and covertly-in a struggle for national memory. First-generation Vietnam War literature, focusing on representations of combat and life in the battlefield, strove to give testimony, to write history. Later writings, in their range of genre and style, investigate and interrogate the very meaning of war. To reflect these two stages, Philip Jason divides his newest book of literary criticism into two sections: acts and shadows. In Acts, Jason provides formal and cultural readings of combat narratives-by such authors as James Webb, Larry Heinemann, and Joe Haldeman-and explores the meaning of authenticity as applied to Vietnam War texts. Shadows looks both forward and backward from the combat zone, challenging the parameters of what we define as Vietnam War literature.

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9780847699568

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Reviews

Jason offers a brief, straightforward, easily accessible introduction to many of the main themes and works of Vietnam War literature.--Kent Blaster

Jason offers a brief, straightforward, easily accessible introduction to many of the main themes and works of Vietnam War literature. -- Kent Blaster, Wayne State College The lasting value of Acts and Shadows is that Jason unveils how myth, gender, and race interact in post-Vietnam heroes in American literature, both the frightening paramilitary side as well as the regenerative healing side... Whether you know a great deal about the Vietnam war or not, Philip Jason will teach you something. Buy this book. South Atlantic Review For the novice of the expert, Philip K. Jason's Acts and Shadows offers an erudite and thoroughgoing survey of representations of the war in American literature. Contemporary Literature Philip K. Jason shows off his wide knowledge of Vietnam War literature in Acts and Shadows. The VVA Veteran

Author Information

Philip K. Jason is professor of English at the United States Naval Academy. He is the author or editor of numerous critical works on American literature and of three collections of poetry.

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