Dollmaker is a historical review of a war many would just as soon forget. But Dollmaker is different. It provides the reader with an alternative outcome. Call it historical revisionism with a twist of bitter truth. From this unique vantage the war in Vietnam is experienced through the life and actions of an unlikely leader; a charismatic woman who isn't democratic, isn't communist, and is not going to take the back seat to the Americans in the conduct of the war. Le Bon, or Lady Bon, as she is affectionately known, finds passionate outlet early in life as a doll maker. She makes dolls of every description. Starting with dolls of cloth and clay, she soon graduates to crafting dolls of flesh and blood. Breaking traditional gender roles, she ascends to the highest pinnacles of power organizing a grassroots paramilitary force called the Blue Shirts. Soon these Vietnamese shock troops under her command garner respect with their communist foes. All during this time, a gung-ho Marine named Mike Grant is working his way up the ladder of military prestige and influence. When the female Vietnamese firebrand and the ambitious American meet, the war, its outcome, and the world would never be the same again. Dollmaker peels back the scab covering our collective consciousness regarding Vietnam. It exposes the underlying passions behind power and power's corrupting tincture. It is also a candid, frequently scathing review of what we, as humans, hold dear and what we often blindly adhere to through our allegiance to tradition.
Dollmaker is a historical review of a war many would just as soon forget. But Dollmaker is different. It provides the reader with an alternative outcome. Call it historical revisionism with a twist of bitter truth. From this unique vantage the war in Vietnam is experienced through the life and actions of an unlikely leader; a charismatic woman who isn't democratic, isn't communist, and is not going to take the back seat to the Americans in the conduct of the war. Le Bon, or Lady Bon, as she is affectionately known, finds passionate outlet early in life as a doll maker. She makes dolls of every description. Starting with dolls of cloth and clay, she soon graduates to crafting dolls of flesh and blood. Breaking traditional gender roles, she ascends to the highest pinnacles of power organizing a grassroots paramilitary force called the Blue Shirts. Soon these Vietnamese shock troops under her command garner respect with their communist foes. All during this time, a gung-ho Marine named Mike Grant is working his way up the ladder of military prestige and influence. When the female Vietnamese firebrand and the ambitious American meet, the war, its outcome, and the world would never be the same again. Dollmaker peels back the scab covering our collective consciousness regarding Vietnam. It exposes the underlying passions behind power and power's corrupting tincture. It is also a candid, frequently scathing review of what we, as humans, hold dear and what we often blindly adhere to through our allegiance to tradition.
Earlier this year I joined the ranks of a select army, that is, the army of persons, mostly women but a few men too, who are actively waging war against the onslaught of breast cancer. Though there many in our ranks, this fierce battle is always, nevertheless, a very private one and involves hard life and death choices. With the arsenal of modern medicine and strong faith in God, this war is winnable. Often, however, the cures are harsh and this ravaging foe brings to the front line emotional and mental as well as physical issues. But this is a war worth fighting and one which can, as I feel happened in my case, bring out hidden strengths in a person they never knew they had. Then too, though my cancer journey has been rough, the people I've met and the places I've been along the way have been truly fascinating and inspiring. I pray that anyone who reads this semi-fictional, semi-autobiographical account of my cancer battle and is fighting their own will be inspired to fight 'til they win.
This is the story of Alice Gresham, an extraordinary woman who is chosen by fate to wage an extraordinary battle against a multitude of evils in this 21st Century. Like the legendary Alice of Lewis Carroll fame, she falls down a rabbit hole of government corruption and evil doing. She also faces more personal battles with autism and cancer. How she fights and wins each battle, with the help of many fascinating people she meets along the way, makes for an inspiring and absorbing story.
This is a historical novel about people and events in Vietnam, then known as French Indochina during World War II. It has plenty of riveting action and thrilling romance along with fascinating intrigue.
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