Saigon Kids: An American Military Brat Comes of Age in 1960s Vietnam
About this audiobook
Looking for unusual coming-of-age books? The events leading up to the Vietnam War provide a fascinating backdrop for this coming-of-age tale with a twist.
In May 1962, Naval Chief Petty Officer Bryant Arbuckle flew to Saigon to establish a new armed forces radio station. Next to follow were his wife and three boys, Leslie among them. Saigon Kids is the candid, recondite slice of fourteen-year-old military brat Les Arbuckle’s experience at the American Community School during the critical months of the Vietnam War when events would, quite literally, ignite in downtown Saigon. In 1963 Saigon was beautiful, violent, and dirty—and the most exciting place a fourteen-year-old American boy could live. Saigon offered a rich array of activities, and much to the consternation of their parents and teachers, Les and his fellow military brats explored the dangers with reckless abandon—running from machine gun fire, watching a Buddhist monk burn to death, visiting brothels late at night, trading currency on the black market.
When Les first arrives in Vietnam, he is a stranger in a strange land, expecting boredom in a country he doesn’t know. But the American social scene is more vibrant than he expected. The American Community School is a mix of kids from all over the globe who arrived just as the fuse on Saigon was about to ignite. As the students continue their American lifestyle behind barbed wire, Saigon unravels in chaos and destruction. Despite this ugliness—an ever-present feature of everyday life—Les tells his story of teenage angst with humor and precocity.
About the author
Les Arbuckle spent his youth as a dependent of the US Navy, living in Texas, North Carolina, Florida, New Mexico, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Hawaii, and Vietnam until his nineteenth birthday. After a stint with the Fiftieth Army Band at Fort Monroe, Virginia, Arbuckle attended the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory. He is a professional saxophonist and has performed with a variety of musical acts, including Lou Rawls, Bernadette Peters, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and the San Diego Symphony Summer Pops Orchestra. He has featured on the recordings of well-known jazz musicians Kenny Barron, Mike Stern, Cecil McBee, John Abercrombie, and Victor Lewis.
Patrick Lawlor has recorded over three hundred audiobooks in just about every genre. He has been an Audie Award finalist several times and has received several AudioFile Earphones Awards. He has won a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, numerous Library Journal and Kirkus starred audio reviews, and multiple Editors' Picks, Top 10, and Year's Best lists. He is the only male audiobook narrator in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To relax in his spare time, Patrick runs marathons.
