THE MANY ROADS TO JAPAN by Robert W. Norris
I originally wrote this story as a reading text for Japanese university students. Now it is available as a free online textbook for ESL (English as a Second Language) students and teachers around the world. A good portion of the story is taken from my own experiences. The Many Roads to Japan tells the story of a Vietnam War conscientious objector's adventures and search for identity over a 14-year period. There are over 50 links to literary, artistic, and historical names. At the end of each chapter there are comprehension and discussion/essay questions. I've recorded the answers in RealAudio so students can get some listening practice, too. The book can be read online or downloaded in HTML, PDF, and Rocket/Gemstar eBook formats. Aimed at intermediate level and above ESL students, the story can also be enjoyed by native speakers.
EMI'S ONLINE ANTIWAR ANTHOLOGY, edited by Dennis Snow
Dennis Snow writes: "Welcome to Emi's Online Antiwar Anthology, a collection of stories and personal experiences from the Vietnam era. It is supposed to capture the spirit of the era, and thereby preserve how it felt to be alive during those years.
"Some of the stories and pictures from the era may evoke feelings of anger. Others may evoke cynicism, disappointment or resignation. I hope it gives you a feeling of the widespread polarization that existed back then. It was a time for confrontation instead of dialog.
"The Vietnam antiwar movement stands to be relegated to historical oblivion unless steps are taken to preserve its history. Its members have been portrayed as traitorous fools, and the antiwar rallies little more than riotous social gatherings. I remember there was much more substance to the movement. We believed in a good cause: to stop an immoral war.
"Until now, the nation has come to terms with the Vietnam War by ignoring
the antiwar movement. The reasons why the antiwar coalition emerged and
grew so rapidly are likely to be forgotten unless steps are taken to preserve
its story. If this is not done,
valuable lessons will be lost -- and future generations may be obliged
to repeat some of the tragedies we experienced.
"This anthology is supposed to be a memorial for the antiwar coalition. It is more utilitarian than traditional memorials. I hope that people will turn to the anthology to remember, and to share their own recollections with others. In that way, the antiwar anthology will continue to promote the ideals that were so important to us."
A YEAR TO KILL by James F. McColloch
Author McColloch writes: "In 1967, the Vietnam War was raging. To amass the required soldiers, thousands of America's young men received the dreaded 'greeting' from the President, instructing them to report for military service. This fueled conflict in our own nation as war protesters marched in the streets and challenged the political system that determined to fight a war in a far land. Those 'drafted' for Vietnam had three choices: They could go to jail; they could leave the United States; or, they could go to war. It was not easy but most answered their country's call. Also, many of America's young men and women volunteered to fight the oppression in Southeast Asia. This book is dedicated to those who bravely went to war, many of whom did not return."
A great list of links to "fiction, truth, yarns, memoirs, tall tales, satire, history, absurdity, jokes, vignettes, accounts, musings, adventures, poems, anecdotes, comedy, tragedy, reports, narratives, short stories, biographies, romance, reminiscences, and reflections" about the Vietnam War.
A superb web site with educational, entertainment, and research material relevant to the study of the Vietnam War. The above Vietnam War Literary Links is included on this site.
SIXTIES PROJECT: FICTION AND PERSONAL NARRATIVE
The archive of fiction and personal narrative published in Viet Nam Generation Journal, the journal of record in the field of Sixties and Viet Nam war studies.
Erowid.org is an online library of information about psychoactive plants and chemicals and related topics. The information on the site is a compilation of the experiences, words, and efforts of hundreds of individuals including users, parents, health professionals, doctors, therapists, chemists, researchers, teachers, and lawyers. Erowid acts as a publisher of new information as well as a library for the collection of documents published elsewhere. The information found on the site spans the spectrum from solid peer reviewed research to fanciful creative writing.
The library contains over 13,000 documents related to psychoactives including images, research summaries and abstracts, media articles, experience reports, information on chemistry, dosage, effects, law, health, traditional and spiritual use, and drug testing. The following book was popular among intellectual and researchers experimenting with psychedelics in the sixties.
THE PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCE: A MANUAL BASED ON THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD by Timothy Leary, Ph.D., Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., & Richard Alpert, Ph.D.
From the Citadel print edition's back cover:
"The drug is only one component of a psychedelic session. Equally important
is the mental and spiritual preparation, both before and in the course
of taking the drug. The authors find no need to invent new mental and spiritual
materials for this purpose. The great literature of meditation lends itself
very well to this use. This manual uses material from The Tibetan
Book of the Dead for this preparation. The authors also make an
important contribution to the interpretation of the Tibetan Book
of the Dead. They show that it is concerned not with the dead,
but with the living. The last section of the manual provides instructions
for an actual psychedelic session, under adequate safeguards."
This site has a lot of useful books and essays concerning research on psychedelics. The following books are among my favorites.
THE MAN WHO TURNED ON THE WORLD by Michael Hollingshead
Originally published by Blond & Briggs, Ltd. in 1973, this book is the autobiography of one of the legendary figures in the history of the psychedelic rediscovery. In 1962 Hollingshead introduced the Harvard researchers to LSD.
THE SEARCH FOR THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE by John Marks
Originally published by Times Books in 1979, this book tells the extraordinary story, compiled from documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, of how the CIA conducted a series of secret programs to find ways to control human behavior. Marks' investigation reveals that the Agency was deeply involved in research with psychoactive drugs, psycho-surgery, electroshock, hypnosis and other methods on Agency operatives, students, mental patients, defectors, prisoners and prostitutes; many of these subjects were unwitting or involuntary collaborators.
LSD, MY PROBLEM CHILD by Albert Hofmann
Albert Hofmann, inventor of LSD and discoverer of psilocybin, the active principle of the "magic mushroom," recounts the history of his discoveries. HTML edition, table of contents and complete text. Originally published in 1980 by McGraw-Hill Book Company. Translated by Jonathan Ott from the German, LSD -- Mein Sorgenkind, 1979
THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION by Aldous Huxley
Huxley's classic from 1954, which sparked the rediscovery of psychedelics by a wide and varied audience. "There is nothing the pen of Huxley touches which it does not illuminate, and as the record of a highly civilised, brilliantly articulate man under the influence of an astonishing drug, The Doors of Perception is a tour de force." -- The Daily Telegraph, London.
STEAL THIS BOOK by Abbie Hoffman
Abbie Hoffman, the notorious 1960s counterculture figure, couldn't get a anyone to publish Steal This Book -- thirty publishers turned it down. When the book was released, bookstores wouldn't carry it. Newspapers, TV, and radio all refused to run advertisements. Despite these setbacks, Steal This Book found its way on to the Best Seller list in 1971 and became a Yippie classic.
"It's embarrassing you try to overthrow the government and you wind up on the Best Seller's List." -- Abbie Hoffman .
DEAD GINNY: A NOVEL BIOGRAPHY OF THE FIRST HIPPIE by Gerard Jones.
A novel memoir of one man's doomed relationship with a hippie woman who went too far. Guest appearances by some notable hippie personalities of the Bay Area.
MEMORIES OF DROP CITY: ADVENTURES IN THE COUNTERCULTURE OF THE 1960s by John Curl.
The story of one of the most famous communes of the 1960s.
If you know of any other links to sixties-related, free online books that would be useful to scholars, researchers, and others interested in the Vietnam War, literature, counterculture, music, hippies, drugs, etc. of that era , please e-mail me at norris@fukuoka-int-u.ac.jpRobert W. Norris, author of Looking for the Summer, Toraware, and The Many Roads to Japan
My first novel Looking for the Summer,the story of a Vietnam War conscientious objector's adventures and search for identity on the road from Paris to Calcutta in 1977, is now out of print, but I still have a few copies left. You can e-mail me to order a copy.
"A graceful autobiographical novel that breathes life into a perennial genre: the spiritual bildungsroman. The theme of a questing expatriate who renounces Western materialism in favor of an exotic pilgrimage to the East will be familiar to anyone who has fallen under the spell of W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge or Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums....
Although published prior to the events of 9/11, it is impossible to pick up Norris's novel without a heightened interest in its vividly depicted locales in a part of the world where our attentions are now so intensely focused. Several fascinating chapters are devoted to [the protagonist's] stay in Afghanistan. Written with a novelist's eye for characterization and a reporter's skill for observation, Looking for hte Summer is the kind of small press gem that is often overlooked but is well worth seeking out. -- Bob Wake, CultureVulture.net
"Although [Looking for the Summer] is about
a past that includes the war in Vietnam, pre-revolutionary Iran and Afghanistan
before the Soviet's attempts at domination, it's also a tale of the present,
a must-read for any American who wonders if there can be a non-fundamentalist
Iran or if the Afghanis are capable of living without internal strife....
"In the hands of any author, Looking for the Summer
would probably be a compelling read due to the inherent intrigue in the
story's setting. But Norris is a masterful writer and storyteller, and
he uses his craft to elevate this tale above mere 'compelling' or 'interesting'
to the realm of uplifting and insightful. He deftly paints a portrait of
his locations using a visual poetry that is neither self-conscious nor
affected.... This is a fascinating novel, told in spellbinding English.
I can't recommend it enough." -- Christine Hall, Alternative Approaches
Magazine
"Looking for the Summer brings to light
the turmoil going through the mind of a conscientious objector to the Vietnam
War...a powerfully written novel.... Highly important in its message about
standing up for what one believes and about the personal growth one experiences
while on a soul-searching journey as a result of taking such action...certain
to have a profound impact on the reader. It is a must-read, unforgettable
novel." -- Jeanne Allen, Knowbetter.com
"Bob Norris tells a riveting true-to-life story of the
Vietnam era and its aftermath.... [Looking for the Summer]
is entertaining, fast-paced, and well-written. The language is fresh and
smooth, the characters are alive, the scenery vivid. We are able to identify
with Mr. Thompson (presumably Norris) through his struggles to find meaning
and peace in his self-exile. Mr. Norris has given us an apt and representative
portrait of a generation." -- Nowick Gray, Alternative Culture Magazine
"Looking for the Summer is an adeptly wrought
project presenting the tumult raging through the psyche of [David Thompson]
a guilt ridden conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. Personal growth
to be experienced while on a soul-searching journey as a result of standing
up for what is important to you is the catalyst for crafting this memorable
book. Looking for the Summer is an important tool for helping
provide some insight into the troublesome period of the late 60s and 70s.
"Norris draws the reader into the page with his intense
descriptives of the sights and sounds inherent to nighttime Paris as David
roams the streets. David and his Iranian friend's sense of eminent danger
is palpable as they cross the Iron Curtain from the free world into the
Middle East. Norris' picturesque descriptions of oil-rich opulence are
offset with graphic recounting old-world indigence present in cities and
villages throughout Iran and other countries of Asia. The contrast to living
in a democratic society is startling in its starkness." -- Molly Martin,
Scribesworld Reviews
"I loved it. It's quite a saga, but in a lot of ways it's
more than fiction. At times, it seems almost a work of philosophy, other
times politics. The homilies on Sufism, the war in Vietnam, Islam, conscientious
objection, etc. are all very enlightening, very unusual. The influence
of Kerouac is apparent." -- Raymond Mungo, author of many counterculture
books
My second novel Toraware is a psychological
drama centering on the obsessive relationship of three misfits from different
cultural backgrounds in 1980s Kobe, Japan. You
can order
Torawarefrom
Dead
End Street or Amazon.com in PDF format.
"Crafted in excellent style and patiently honed....The Japanese characters are wholly convincing....The ambivalence and spiritual guilt of Yoshiko, one of the tragic heroines of Toraware, about an abortion she underwent years ago, is perfectly captured....[Norris has] captured the unassuagable melancholy at the deepest core of the Japanese soul [and] succeeded in convincing us of the reality of [his] vision." -- Kansai Time Out Magazine
"A wonderful novel about that last love/lust journey some of us take before we segue into middle age, acceptance and stability. It is a dangerous journey, not for the weak of heart. Along the way are demons lying in ambush, and false trails which can lead to madness, suicide and even murder. Robert W. Norris has created characters we will grow to love, despite their many flaws, characters who, we hope and pray, will make it through, characters we will always remember. Be prepared to stay up nights as you follow their progress. A number one read!" -- Paul Clayton, author of Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam
"Intriguing...absorbing...holds the reader from the opening page.... The line between eccentricity and losing your marbles is a fine one. As Norris tellingly shows, often it is just a matter of luck as to which side of the line you exist on." -- Mainichi Daily News
"Toraware goes beyond the gaijin experience.... [Norris] manages to evoke the rootlessness felt by young Japanese uncertain about their future." -- The Japan Times
"The author has written an interesting tale about realistic characters. He shows the reader the difference between the old and new faces of society in Japan and the young people who are strongly influenced by both and are thus torn between them. His understanding of a young man with no roots who has wandered from one place to another, not finding what he seeks, builds a complex character who is doomed to repeat his mistakes unless he takes himself in hand. And you will find yourself hoping he does." -- Anne K Edwards, author of Death Comes Knocking