Finding Jack
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Following a tragic accident, Fletcher Carson joins the flagging war effort in Vietnam. Lost and lonely, he plans to die in the war. But after stumbling upon a critically injured yellow Lab, Fletcher unexpectedly finds a reason to live. He finds Jack. Fletcher and Jack are a team, and like the hundreds of other U.S. Military dogs and their handlers in Vietnam, they serve their country, saving countless lives. To the men, the dogs are heroes. But at the end of the war, the U.S. government announces that all the dogs serving in the war have been declared “surplus military equipment” and will not be transported home. Ordered to leave Jack behind, Fletcher refuses – and so begins the journey of two friends who will go to the ends of the earth to save each other. Based on the actual existence and abandonment of canine units in Vietnam, Finding Jack is more than just a story of man saves dog. It is a story of friendship and love, and a moving tribute to the forgotten heroes of a desperate war. And proof that sometimes it is dog that truly saves man.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This debut is undone by improbable action scenes and glaring errors of fact, resulting in a sappy and unbelievable story. In 1972, 29-year-old Fletcher Carson enlists to fight in Vietnam after his family is killed in a plane crash. With the war nearly over, Fletcher and his platoon gripe about the futility of the conflict as they embark on reconnaissance patrols and impossible secret missions. During one patrol, the men find a wounded trained scout dog that they name Jack, nurse back to health, and adopt as their mascot. Jack repays them by sniffing out mines, booby traps, and ambushes, saving many lives. When it's time for Fletcher to head home, he can't bear the thought of leaving Jack to die in Vietnam, so he deserts and attempts to walk with Jack the 350 miles to Thailand, with Jack proving his mettle yet again after they encounter trouble en route. Unfortunately, unconvincing scenarios (sending relatively inexperienced troops on a special-ops type mission) and military inaccuracies (there is no such thing as a Phantom helicopter, for instance) dilute and distract from what could be an evocative story.
