A Thousand Tears Falling: The True Story of a Vietnamese Family Torn Apart by War, Communism, and the CIA

Dung Krall adds a valuable and often missing perspective to the Vietnam War, that of one of its many victims. Her portraits of the many family members who joined one or the other side, and their motives for doing so, offer a unique view into the war's complexities that will be beyond the abilities of many pundits and critics to understand. She is not alone in having family and friends on both sides of the war. Legions of Viet refugees world-wide can recount similar situations. But her experience was privileged by both her family's provincial mandarin origins, and her father's rise from an important leader of the Southern communist resistance, to membership in the Politbureau, to the DRV's ambassador to the Soviet Union. As with most autobiographies, it suffers from 20/20 hindsight and the human tendency to paint oneself in the best possible light. At times, one wonders if she is recounting history, or carefully insuring that she covers herself, and if the latter, then who is her true target audience? These are small irritants, and do not detract from the overall power of her stirring account. Anyone interested in the human cost of the Vietnam War should begin with "thousand tears", but remain aware that this is a first person view, and as such it either omits, or is ignorant of, myriad factors that sparked and sustained the war. The sound of a thousand tears falling is the same as that of a single hand clapping, but the grief underlying this account is both palpable and real. (Note: I'm not sure about the name spelling change referred to above, but the soft Vietnamese letter D is pronounced as a soft z in the North, and a y in the South.)

There are some books that are so important that they act as a kind of "rosette stone" for our understanding of historical events and the people who were caught up in them. This book is going to become a touchstone importance for those trying to relate to the human element of the Vietnam War for non-combatants. The author, Yung Krall, opens a new doorway to viewing what life was like for those families caught in up the cross fires of the Vietnam War. In her book, "A Thousand Tears Falling," she will change and alter the thought processes of any veteran reading of her personal experiences. It will also enlighten those readers who were never a part of any war but often wondered what life was like for those who tried to live inside a war zone with their families. She puts a face on that war and on the enemy and on the allies. She, through her sometimes very sad story, will peel away some of the mystery of why certain members of a family, or a community in Vietnam, fought for which side. It is not as simple as one thinks. It has more to with personal loyalties, family and nationalism and less at times, to issues about communism or capitalism. Her father however, was a powerful leader in the war against the French, the South Vietnamese and the Americans and believed in communism. He left her loving home to go fight the war leaving behind his family to forge for them selves while he lived in the jungles and forests for 18 years. He was a NLF Senator and when the war was over he was rewarded with an ambassadorship. This book is all about family and loyalties and choices. There were many hard choices to be made in the author's young life. She had to choose where her heart and loyalties really were at. She eventually worked for the South Vietnamese and American armies and ends up falling in love with an American navy pilot, getting married and moving to the United States. However, in order to get the rest of her family out of Vietnam to safety, she had to work with the CIA and became a spy. There is so much more depth to this story and what she had emotionally endured. I do not think a movie could do justice to it; only a TV mini-series could fully capture the spiritual impact of what her life was like and choices she was forced to make. This is one woman that you will want to meet in person and shake her hand. She has been through more than most could emotionally bear and she is the stronger for it. She will move you to tears at times when you read her book, but when you finish you will find that you have gained something valuable through that experience. This book receives the MWSA highest rating! 2005 Silver Medal Award for Non-Fiction!