Skip to main content

Hoopla logo
Browse
My Hoopla

Log In

Books, videos, and music - all free from your public library!

Ebooks
The Broken Country

EBOOK

The Broken Country

On Trauma, a Crime, and the Continuing Legacy of Vietnam

Paisley RekdalSeries: Association of Writers and Writing Programs Award for Creative Nonfiction

5

(1)

Pages

158

Year

2017

Language

English

University of Georgia Press

Footer

Hoopla logo, Go to homepage

For Patrons
For Libraries (opens in new window)
For Vendors (opens in new window)

Facebook (opens in new window)
X (opens in new window)
Instagram (opens in new window)
YouTube (opens in new window)
TikTok (opens in new window)
LinkedIn (opens in new window)

Our Company

Our Story
Get Hoopla for your Library (opens in new window)
Get your content on hoopla (opens in new window)
Join our team (opens in new window)
Accessibility Statement

Our Content

Audiobooks
Ebooks
Movies
Television
Comics
BingePasses
Music
The Loop Blog

Help

Help Center
Submit Feedback

Facebook (opens in new window)
X (opens in new window)
Instagram (opens in new window)
YouTube (opens in new window)
TikTok (opens in new window)
LinkedIn (opens in new window)

Download on the App Store (opens in new window)
Get it on Google Play (opens in new window)
Available at Amazon Appstore (opens in new window)

© 2026 Midwest Tape, LLC. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

About

An attack in a grocery store parking lot launches an examination of the Vietnam War's dark legacy-by the author of The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee.

The Broken Country uses a violent incident that took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2012 as a springboard for examining the long-term cultural and psychological effects of the Vietnam War. To make sense of the shocking and baffling incident-in which a young homeless man born in Vietnam stabbed a number of white men purportedly in retribution for the war-Paisley Rekdal draws on a remarkable range of material and fashions it into a compelling account of the dislocations suffered by the Vietnamese and also by American-born veterans over the past decades. She interweaves a narrative about the crime with information collected in interviews, historical examination of the arrival of Vietnamese immigrants in the 1970s, a critique of portrayals of Vietnam in American popular culture, and discussions of the psychological consequences of trauma. This work allows us to better understand transgenerational and cultural trauma and advances our still complicated struggle to comprehend the war.

Related Subjects

Vietnam War
Wars & Conflicts
History
Adult Nonfiction
Asian American & Pacific Islander Studies
Cultural & Ethnic Studies
Social Science
Veterans
Military
Southeast Asia
Asia
General
United States

Extended Details

SeriesAssociation of Writers and Writing Programs Award for Creative Nonfiction

Artists

Paisley RekdalAuthor