Agent Orange

George Hay; William Shatner

ISBN 10: 0974092606 ISBN 13: 9780974092607

Publisher: Av Books Pub, 2004

Synopsis

An audiovisual book read by William Shatner.

David Quinn was an aimless college freshman in 1964.  At 18 years of age he was the product of a more apathetic time.  He paid scant attention to the profound worldly exchanges that would soon take over his life.  Faced inevitably with the draft, he acquiesced naively, assuming it would be the easy way out.  It was only the beginning of his troubles.

They began in Vietnam, where as one of many young American males yanked from a complacent life of TV war and college social life, Quinn did not belong.  The problems compounded in North Vietnam, where he was stranded after hitching a ride on an ill-fated spotter plane.  Almost miraculously he made it back to friendly territory, unscathed without even firing his weapon.  Although he did not know it at the time, he brought something back with him; secrets which would follow him for the next two years into civilian life.

There were others who were not so lucky.  Those who did not make it back.  But this was not Quinn's concern. He had served his country.  He had fulfilled his commitment.  Or at least he thought...until they asked him to go back.

AGENT ORANGE is the story of one of the earliest POW rescue attempts of a downed US Navy pilot, the son of a Pentagon Admiral.  Moreover, in the symbolic shadow of the misused herbicide Orange, the book reflects the many frustrations of the Vietnam War and a moral dilemma relating not only to Southeast Asia but all armed conflicts throughout the ages.  How does one learn to kill?

About this title

About the Author

George Hay is a new author arriving on the scene at just the right time.  He writes in a refreshing and unique new style that has been described as a combination of Hemingway and Clancy.

William Shatner is one of the best known film and television actors in the world.  His prolific career also includes numerous Broadway shows, scriptwriting, directing and producing, as well as starring roles in the hit Television series "Star Trek", "TJ Hooker" and "Rescue 911".  He is also in high demand as a voice-over actor, having appeared in numerous animated series and documentaries.

Reviews

In combining e-book and audiobook features, AV Books offers a product that will allow readers, and listeners, to experience the written word in a different manner. One can either listen to the audiobook using an MP3 player or slip the disc into a computer to listen and follow along. The text appears in book format on the screen, complete with pages that turn and can be magnified, and the program contains tools for highlighting, making annotations and conducting word searches—options that are particularly useful for students and those who are struggling to read. Hay's debut novel isn't likely to inspire listeners to take copious notes or highlight passages, however. His tale of David Quinn—an apathetic 19-year-old who's drafted to serve in Vietnam, shot down while taking a ride on a spotter plane, rescued, recruited to work for a mysterious organization known as TTC and then sent back to Vietnam to retrieve POWs—is plodding and curiously flat. Even Shatner's skillful narration isn't enough to enliven Hay's passive prose and one-dimensional characters. Unfortunately, though the technology underlying AV Books's first outing possesses much potential and value, this particular book doesn't highlight it to full advantage.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Av Books Pub
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0974092606
• ISBN 13: 9780974092607
• Binding: Audio CD