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Overview
Down in Laos is a superbly written war story set in Southeast Asia during the seizure of USS Pueblo, the Tet Offensive, and the Battle of Khe Sanh in 1968.
Down in Laos is not a tiny story. It is a classic suspense, action-thriller about a naval ship, an air wing, and a pilot who is shot down and becomes a prisoner of the Pathet Lao. But Mr. Partel not only entertains his readers in page-turning style, he leaves them a little smarter about the world. His self-described genre—journalistic fiction—provides the latitude to bring observations and ideas to the attention of the reader. So when downed navy pilot, Lt. Campbell, becomes a prisoner of war brutalized at the hands of the Pathet Lao, his plight parallels the Book of Job and subtly provides a comparison of Western Civilization with totalitarian states that lack a moral compass. And Mr. Partel’s sense of history does not ignore the social issues of the mid-1960’s in military and civilian life, and in the tradition of South Pacific, Down in Laos touches on these issues briefly but deftly.
This is authentic historical fiction about the naval air war in Southeast Asia for avid military readers. And for readers who want the historical background and the social context reminiscent of Patrick O’Brian’s naval novels of the Napoleonic Wars, they will find this tradition carried forward 150 years as USS Ticonderoga, Attack Carrier 14, succeeds the frigate in this well-written yarn of modern naval fiction.
— Navy Log Books
Down in Laos is not a tiny story. It is a classic suspense, action-thriller about a naval ship, an air wing, and a pilot who is shot down and becomes a prisoner of the Pathet Lao. But Mr. Partel not only entertains his readers in page-turning style, he leaves them a little smarter about the world. His self-described genre—journalistic fiction—provides the latitude to bring observations and ideas to the attention of the reader. So when downed navy pilot, Lt. Campbell, becomes a prisoner of war brutalized at the hands of the Pathet Lao, his plight parallels the Book of Job and subtly provides a comparison of Western Civilization with totalitarian states that lack a moral compass. And Mr. Partel’s sense of history does not ignore the social issues of the mid-1960’s in military and civilian life, and in the tradition of South Pacific, Down in Laos touches on these issues briefly but deftly.
This is authentic historical fiction about the naval air war in Southeast Asia for avid military readers. And for readers who want the historical background and the social context reminiscent of Patrick O’Brian’s naval novels of the Napoleonic Wars, they will find this tradition carried forward 150 years as USS Ticonderoga, Attack Carrier 14, succeeds the frigate in this well-written yarn of modern naval fiction.
— Navy Log Books
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940150030244 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Navy Log Books |
| Publication date: | 12/01/2014 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 298 |
| File size: | 641 KB |
About the Author
Francis J. Partel, Jr., better known as Frank, says he “was educated at Columbia College, Columbia University and in the Gulf of Tonkin with the United States Navy.” Serving in USS Ticonderoga, Attack Carrier 14, as a junior officer, he simultaneously held down assignments as Office of the Deck, as a Combat Information Center Watch Officer, and as one of the ship’s two Strike Controllers to gain a rich and unique perspective of aircraft carrier operations during the Vietnam War. His perspective spans from the surface ships that screen the formation, to the oilers, ammunition and stores ships which replenish the task group, to the squadrons which courageously flew the missions to deliver ordnance on the target. Given the specialization of skills and the complexity of carrier organization in the modern navy, and later as a civilian pilot, few writers of modern naval fiction have had the experience to write with Mr. Partel’s authority and authenticity on the subject.
He received his commission as an Ensign after attending US Naval Officer’s Candidate School, Newport, RI, and served in aircraft carriers on active duty from October 1965 until December 1968.
Prior to college, he graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon School, and after active duty he completed his MBA at Columbia University on the GI Bill. He grew up in Hoboken, NJ, and lived most of his adult life in lower Fairfield County, CT. He was a business executive by profession and was a senior executive with Citicorp, American Express, and Chase Manhattan Bank in New York City before retiring from US Bancorp in Minneapolis. For five years he taught as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the MBA program at Stern School of Business, New York University. Mr. Partel is also co-holder of US Patent 7,624,068. When he isn’t writing he can be found fishing, sailing, or playing golf or tennis. He is married and resides in Vero Beach, FL, and summers on Chappaquiddick Island, Martha’s Vineyard.
Mr. Partel integrates thorough research and historical accuracy with fictitious story-telling to create his own unique genre of literature which has been referred to as journalistic fiction.
His first work of fiction, A Wound in the Mind, The Court-Martial of Lance Corporal Cachora, USMC, was published in 2009. The Chess Players, A Novel of the Cold War at Sea, his first full-length novel, followed in 2011. Down in Laos, Heroism and Inspiration during the Vietnam War, is his third novel.
He received his commission as an Ensign after attending US Naval Officer’s Candidate School, Newport, RI, and served in aircraft carriers on active duty from October 1965 until December 1968.
Prior to college, he graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon School, and after active duty he completed his MBA at Columbia University on the GI Bill. He grew up in Hoboken, NJ, and lived most of his adult life in lower Fairfield County, CT. He was a business executive by profession and was a senior executive with Citicorp, American Express, and Chase Manhattan Bank in New York City before retiring from US Bancorp in Minneapolis. For five years he taught as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the MBA program at Stern School of Business, New York University. Mr. Partel is also co-holder of US Patent 7,624,068. When he isn’t writing he can be found fishing, sailing, or playing golf or tennis. He is married and resides in Vero Beach, FL, and summers on Chappaquiddick Island, Martha’s Vineyard.
Mr. Partel integrates thorough research and historical accuracy with fictitious story-telling to create his own unique genre of literature which has been referred to as journalistic fiction.
His first work of fiction, A Wound in the Mind, The Court-Martial of Lance Corporal Cachora, USMC, was published in 2009. The Chess Players, A Novel of the Cold War at Sea, his first full-length novel, followed in 2011. Down in Laos, Heroism and Inspiration during the Vietnam War, is his third novel.
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