Patches of Fire

Description:

Patches of Fire is the story of a young man's encounter with a war and with deaths beyond his understanding; of his return to a country torn by racial unrest in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.; and of his painstaking efforts to defeat his inner demons and make a place for himself as a black man in white America. With a starkness tempered by humor, French brings to life the horrors of Vietnam, and recounts in compelling detail his uneasy tenure as a newspaper photographer, his heady days as publisher of his own magazine, his confrontations with the ghostly images of Vietnam that haunted his dreams - and the sense of renewal and purpose he achieved as a novelist. The very personal story of French's trials and triumphs, Patches of Fire is also a revealing exploration of the black soldier's experience in Vietnam, the plight of the Vietnam veteran, and the redemptive power of writing.

subjects: Afro-American men,  Afro-Americans,  American Authors,  American Personal narratives,  Authors, American,  Biography,  Fiction,  Personal narratives, American,  Veterans,  Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975,  African American men,  African Americans,  Vietnam War, 1961-1975,  Fiction, war & military

People: Albert French

Times: 20th century