This humorous, comic guide to Vietnam War-era Vietnam is a hilarious explanation of the land, customs, and people the American "advisor" has found so fascinating, provoking, agreeable, disturbing, infuriating and lovable. The American, and especially the American serviceman, can be counted on to find the lighter side of life anywhere in the world—even in Vietnam. And that's just what caroonist Tony Zidek has captured in this 120 page laugh-along-with-the-Vietnamese comic guide. Vietnam, as the author explains, is the land of "gazebbies, dummy sticks, cyclos, and no sweat pills." It is also a land where a very serious life-and-death struggle faces its residents every day. For this reason the author hopes that this book was intended i some small way will help the American soldier see past his daily hardships and uncertainties to the "lighter side of Vietnam."

In 2014, the US marks the 50th anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the basis for the Johnson administration’s escalation of American military involvement in Southeast Asia and war against North Vietnam. Vietnam War Slang outlines the context behind the slang used by members of the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. Troops facing and inflicting death display a high degree of linguistic creativity. Vietnam was the last American war fought by an army with conscripts, and their involuntary participation in the war added a dimension to the language. War has always been an incubator for slang; it is brutal, and brutality demands a vocabulary to describe what we don’t encounter in peacetime civilian life. Furthermore, such language serves to create an intense bond between comrades in the armed forces, helping them to support the heavy burdens of war. The troops in Vietnam faced the usual demands of war, as well as several that were unique to Vietnam – a murky political basis for the war, widespread corruption in the ruling government, untraditional guerilla warfare, an unpredictable civilian population in Vietnam, and a growing lack of popular support for the war back in the US. For all these reasons, the language of those who fought in Vietnam was a vivid reflection of life in wartime. Vietnam War Slang lays out the definitive record of the lexicon of Americans who fought in the Vietnam War. Assuming no prior knowledge, it presents around 2000 headwords, with each entry divided into sections giving parts of speech, definitions, glosses, the countries of origin, dates of earliest known citations, and citations. It will be an essential resource for Vietnam veterans and their families, students and readers of history, and anyone interested in the principles underpinning the development of slang.

A concise, information-packed background of the history and culture of Vietnam, including the country's relations with the United States. Comprehensive and authoritative, this book accurately describes this fascinating country. The author begins with a description of the geographical features of the country and the various tribes and people that inhabit it, then reviews the various religions, the educational system, and customs that have played and continue to play determinative roles in the lives of the Vietnamese. The French colonial period and its influence on the religion and educational system of the country are covered as well as such fascinating sidelights as eating habits, society, and hair styles. A separate chapter covers arts of this part of Asia. These include the theater as well as painting, architecture, sculpture, music, and literature. Some Vietnamese legends are retold in the final chapter. Visitors to this country will be especially interested in the sections on language, customs, festivals, holidays, and recreation, not to mention places to visit. Miss Hau Dinh Cam, a Vietnamese artist, has given added life to many pages with her drawings of the people in scenes of daily life.

Warrior Ways is one of the first book-length explorations of military folklife, and focuses on the lore produced by modern American warriors, illuminating the ways in which members of the armed services creatively express the complex experience of military life. In short, lively essays, contributors to the volume, all of whom have close personal or professional relationships to the military, examine battlefield talismans, personal narrative (storytelling), “Jody calls” (marching and running cadences), slang, homophobia and transgressive humor, music, and photography, among other cultural expressions. Military folklore does not remain in an isolated subculture; it reveals our common humanity by delighting, disturbing, infuriating, and inspiring both those deeply invested in and those peripherally touched by military life. Highlighting the contemporary and historical importance of the military in American life, Warrior Ways will be of interest to scholars and students of folklore, anthropology, and popular culture; those involved in veteran services and education; and general readers interested in military culture.

The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang offers the ultimate record of modern, post WW2 American Slang. The 25,000 entries are accompanied by citations that authenticate the words as well as offer examples of usage from popular literature, newspapers, magazines, movies, television shows, musical lyrics, and Internet user groups. Etymology, cultural context, country of origin and the date the word was first used are also provided. In terms of content, the cultural transformations since 1945 are astounding. Television, computers, drugs, music, unpopular wars, youth movements, changing racial sensitivities and attitudes towards sex and sexuality are all substantial factors that have shaped culture and language. This new edition includes over 500 new headwords collected with citations from the last five years, a period of immense change in the English language, as well as revised existing entries with new dating and citations. No term is excluded on the grounds that it might be considered offensive as a racial, ethnic, religious, sexual or any kind of slur. This dictionary contains many entries and citations that will, and should, offend. Rich, scholarly and informative, The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English is an indispensable resource for language researchers, lexicographers and translators.