About Boots on the Ground
LISTEN to today's conversation with Elizabeth Partridge!
★ “Partridge proves once again that nonfiction can be every bit as dramatic as the best fiction.”*
America’s war in Vietnam. In over a decade of bitter fighting, it claimed the lives of more than 58,000 American soldiers and beleaguered four US presidents. More than forty years after America left Vietnam in defeat in 1975, the war remains controversial and divisive both in the United States and abroad.
The history of this era is complex; the cultural impact extraordinary. But it’s the personal stories of eight people—six American soldiers, one American military nurse, and one Vietnamese refugee—that create the heartbeat of Boots on the Ground. From dense jungles and terrifying firefights to chaotic helicopter rescues and harrowing escapes, each individual experience reveals a different facet of the war and moves us forward in time. Alternating with these chapters are profiles of key American leaders and events, reminding us of all that was happening at home during the war, including peace protests, presidential scandals, and veterans’ struggles to acclimate to life after Vietnam.
With more than one hundred photographs, award-winning author Elizabeth Partridge’s unflinching book captures the intensity, frustration, and lasting impacts of one of the most tumultuous periods of American history.
*Kirkus Reviews, starred review of Marching for Freedom
About the Author
Elizabeth Partridge graduated with a degree in women’s studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and later studied traditional Chinese medicine. She was an acupuncturist for more than 20 years before closing her medical practice to write full time. Elizabeth is a National Book Award finalist, Prince Honor winner, and author of several nonfiction books for children, including Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange;This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie; John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth; and Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don’t You Grow Weary. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area.
