Thomas A. Bass

Interesting book for its naivete. Equally interesting is the background items to the Vietnam era, some provided by An and some by Bass' own research team. Although the author increasingly comes to question everything spoken by An, Bass eventually inserts a cautionary note to preface the entire book. The author does have an admirable polish to his writing style. His style, unfortunately, happens to be subverted by his super-gullibility. I was horrified at reporter's inability to not be led by the nose at every turn by a supposedly ex-espionage agent. Apparently, Bass thought An's propaganda work ended with the 1975 fall of Saigon. It is absurd that in Bass' research An was never questioned by any non-communist who had survived the war and who did not function as a journalist. Too many US military memoirs state that Saigon must have had mole at the highest level of MACV. The fact that so many missions were immediately compromised (hot LZs) made it obvious to everyone involved in action, except to the brass and the White House, that something sinister was going on. This book ends, appropriately enough, with tears from the statue of the Virgin Mary coincident with An's death. Apparently, to Bass' simple sensibilities, a nationalistic and anti-religious agent like An could in the end be welcomed into heaven by a symbol of traditional religion. An, having witnessed war for so long, had passed peacefully from one side to the other--at least in Bass' mind.… (mais)

Thomas Bass travels through Africa, visiting and sometimes assisting various scientists and laboratories while he is there. The scientific programs he visits include studying how the desert is advancing, learning about evolution through studying fish mating patterns, the sociology and possible preventative measures for famine, hunting for viruses in Nigeria, and so on.

Bass does a great job of both taking the reader on a journey, as well as presenting the science in a way that just about anyone can understand. One of the things I really liked about this was that he didn't just talk about Europeans who come into Africa to study science, but introduces the many Africans who are taking an active part in developing science in their own countries.… (mais)