The last American combat soldier left Vietnam more than 50 years ago, but for hundreds of thousands of people in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and the United States, the painful legacies of war linger on. George Black's book "The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam" tells the story of the decades that followed the war in a way that is as gripping as its war-telling.
The book is structured around the lives of two American veterans who return to Vietnam in the 1990s to help people recover from injuries caused by leftover explosives and Agent Orange, a dangerous chemical first used by the Americans in 1962, which causes debilitating effects for generations. While much of the story focuses on the horrific tragedies of the conflict, Black shows how the persistent efforts of a small group of unsung heroes -- Americans and Vietnamese -- broke through stonewall opposition in the U.S. to reestablish unofficial and official ties between the two countries and bring help to people in need.
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