Tragic Mountains; The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992
Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1993. Second printing [stated]. Hardcover. xxviii, 580 pages. Illustrations. Maps. Chronology. Notes. Glossary. Interviews and Sources. Index. Inscribed and dated by the author on the half title page. Inscription reads: To Kent Holmer--Who Also Served. Never forget the secret war in Laos & all the sacrifices. Jane Hamilton-Merritt, Sept. 14, 1998. Jane Hamilton-Merritt (born Mary Jane LaRowe, 1937), in Noble County, Indiana is a retired college professor, photojournalist, and author. Hamilton-Merritt is known for the work she has done on behalf of the Laotian and Hmong people, who were U.S. allies in the Vietnam War before being largely forgotten in the aftermath. In 1980, she wrote an early story in Reader’s Digest on reported chemical and biological warfare in Laos under the Marxist government. In 1993, she published a book on the Hmong and Lao people, Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret War for Laos, 1942-1992. Derived from a Kirkus review: Passionate story of a primitive people being destroyed by modern political forces. This is a cri de coeur on behalf of the Hmong, a tough minority ethnic group who have lived in the highlands of Laos since being driven out of the south China mountains in the 18th century. Hamilton-Merritt's sense of identity with the Hmong is very strong. She relates a saga of incidents as well as supplying an in-depth context, such as in her description of a Communist attack days after Khrushchev and Kennedy agreed not to fight over Laos. Hamilton-Merritt's central point is the delineation of a brutal, cynical use of the Hmong by the US government. The Hmong, she contends, were subjected to attack by local forces that resented their alliance with the US. The subsequent near-extermination of the Hmong by Communists using Russian chemical weapons was, the author argues, ignored by the US because of new political priorities. This is an ambitious, well-researched and thorough document. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Hmong, Fackee, Chao Fa, Sin Sai, Yellow Rain, Bouam Loung, Long Chieng, Phou Pha Thi, Vang Pao, Viet Minh, Harry Alderholt, Ban Vinai, Chemical Warfare, Jerry Daniels, CIA, Human Rights, Van Pao, Kissinger, Kong Le, Ly Lue, Lo Ma, Moua Cher Pao, Moua
ISBN: 9780253327314
[Book #79105]
Price: $50.00