During the early twentieth century, Vietnam was a cosmopolitan country, influenced not only by its Chinese and Khmer neighbors, but also by the French and other Europeans. This fascinating book is among the first in English to document the output of Vietnamese craftspeople and manufacturers from this period. Lacquer work, carvings, textiles, and ceramics are among the wonderful crafts illustrated in 302 color photographs. These are placed in their cultural context with a detailed text and insights from the author, who has lived in the region for many years. Collectors of Southeast Asian artifacts finally have a reference to help identify Vietnamese craft items, their meaning in the Vietnamese culture, and their current values.

The memoir of paratrooper Kurt Gabel-a German Jew who emigrated to the US in 1938, joined the 513th Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division, and fought against his former countrymen in the Battle of the Bulge. Gabel conveys with rare immediacy anin-depth look at the training of a paratrooper, the dangers of combat, and his transformation from romantic idealist to warrior. He vividly recounts the fire fights and such episodes as narrow escapes, separation from his battalion and his rescue by another, and the interrogation of prisoners. He tells the full story of his desperate hours on "Dead Man's Ridge" near Bastogne.