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 An
affectionately comic novel
about “hearts and minds” at war
Whether it’s 35 years ago in Vietnam or
today in the Middle East, spreading democracy in an angry world
takes more than bombs and bullets. Winning the reluctant hearts and minds
of a troubled nation is the seemingly impossible mission we give
to young "Civil Affairs" soldiers who can’t speak the native
language, don’t know the local customs, can’t tell their friends
from their enemies...
In other words, we didn't change much
during the lull between
our quagmires!
"A deeply-felt, brilliantly written
comedy... Very funny novel that misses few opportunities, but one
that is invariably respectful, compassionate and often downright
admiring toward its cast of clowns."
-- Kirkus Reviews
Of
Rice and Men is a brash, emotional
and fall-down-funny chronicle of little-known “Civil
Affairs” soldiers who roam a hostile war zone not to
kill or to destroy but to build, to feed, and to heal.
They risk their lives for Vietnamese villagers and Montagnard tribesmen: spraying peanut plants,
inoculating pigs, searching for imaginary volleyballs,
and hauling miracle rice seed — for Ho Chi Minh.
Now that our second big "hearts
and minds war" is raging, we can better appreciate our first,
where we faced the same challenges. This book is a funny, disarming and thought-provoking
tribute to young Americans who try to do absolute good
in a hopeless situation. They find it nearly impossible
to make a battered population fall in love with them.
But it’s a thrill to watch them try.
Whatever you might expect to see
in a "war novel" — you
won't find it in
Of Rice and Men. We
don't preach the same old lessons that you
already know. We don't take you where you've
been before. We take you to a quieter place, that you
didn't expect and might never forget. Civilians
and veterans alike are welcome here. Women readers are
some of the book's biggest fans. Hawk or dove, red or
blue, old or young, you will find something in this book
to make you laugh, make you think, and make you proud.
Click Here
for a Reading Group Guide
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"a clever, quirky, surprisingly uncynical
view of Vietnam." Publishers Weekly
"an unusual, affecting first novel...
unfolds with beguiling tenderness, humor, and wisdom."
Booklist
"This is the most unforgettable story of Vietnam that I have
ever read.” Robin Moore, author of The Green Berets
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"Richard Galli’s wonderful novel is every
bit as much a Vietnam war novel as the best combat stories, but
warmer, more real, and exquisitely funny."
Phillip Jennings, author of Nam-A-Rama
“Of Rice and Men is wonderful and wonderfully well written. It
is a singular addition to the literature of the Vietnam War.”
Bernard Edelman, editor of
Dear America, Letters Home from Vietnam
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 A riveting true story about life, death
and more important things
A teenage boy lies motionless at the bottom of a swimming pool.
His frantic parents drag him back to life, then learn he is
totally paralyzed from the neck down, unable even to breathe
without mechanical assistance. Over the next ten days they
struggle to carry out their decision to rescue him once more — by
turning off his life support.
"We rescued him from drowning, then we
tried to rescue him from a life that might not be worth living.
In the end, Jeffrey would have to rescue himself from me."
"Through a voice as plain as that of a single-reed instrument,
he achieves an emotional resonance that swells with symphonic
intensity...
a huge story unflinchingly told."
-- The New York Times
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“Galli has created a spectacular piece of
writing, a cliff-hanging mystery —
one in which
we think a murder may be going to happen... It
is this rank honesty
that sets Rescuing Jeffrey
apart.” New Mobility Magazine
"I have been consumed by your words. I can’t get them out of my
head... You have given such a gift to all of us... You have
risked so much by this exposure. I believe, as you obviously do,
that the consequences will be worth it." A Reader
"This book will break your heart, and then... heal
it." A Reader
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“A book that goes beyond even Tuesdays With
Morrie to the emotional core
of our very
existence, making us confront our fears, our
loves and our dreams
in a way we may never have
before... This is one of those rare great books
that captures the strength of the human spirit
and trumpets
the quiet dignity of true heroism.” The Providence Journal
"I was amazed -- from start to finish...
you have found, it seems, the true essence of life... Thank
you... for the most moving, inspirational story I’ve ever read.
This is one story to be forever tucked into my heart."
A Reader
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 In
his first book, Richard Galli reached into a family tragedy and
pulled out a work of art: at times lyrically beautiful, at other
times stark and brutally honest. In his second book he peels
back decades of cynicism and shows us that within the young
Americans we send to war there sometimes beat gentle,
optimistic, hilarious hearts.
A former Vietnamese interpreter, journalist, and a lawyer for
more than thirty years, he reduced his law practice to help care
for his son, who was paralyzed in a swimming accident on the
Fourth of July, 1998. Richard lives with his family in East
Greenwich, Rhode Island.
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