Description: "In Saying No to the Vietnam War, Eli Greenbaum presents personal accounts from individuals who were driven to resist or dodge the Vietnam War draft. These vivid and candid oral histories detail encounters with the Selective Service System, events that were often controversial, sometimes volatile, and almost always emotionally charged. The narrative of the author's own experience blended with the interviewees' stories brings together a chorus of protest while providing context, commentary, and a unique fifty-year perspective. Saying No will not only resonate with those who lived through this divisive and volatile era but will help subsequent generations understand how and why there was such strong antiwar sentiment during the Vietnam War era"--
Brief description:
Eli Greenbaum is an attorney and former ad agency creative director and is the author of several published short stories and articles.
Review Quotes:
"Eli Greenbaum has written one of the best studies of those who fought, often successfully, their being drafted to fight in Vietnam. Based on long and colorful interviews with many resisters, his volume enriches our understanding of what drove unprecedented numbers of young men to challenge the Selective Service System."--Melvin Small, author of At the Water's Edge: American Politics and the Vietnam War
"The Vietnam War was fought on many fronts, and we often forget that the home front was crucial here--marked by an army of courageous and patriotic men and women who often, at considerable risk to themselves, resisted this terrible war. Eli Greenbaum has brilliantly orchestrated the voices of resistance from that era. This is a major statement and a valuable piece of American history."--Jay Parini, author of Borges and Me: An Encounter
"From the superb opening ('Draft dodging runs in my family') to his effective closing chapter, Eli Greenbaum has crafted an exceptional study that adds considerably to what we know about opposition to the military draft during the Vietnam War. Of the many oral histories about the conflict, Greenbaum's is the first I have read that combines the two genres of memoir and oral history. That Greenbaum has made this approach work is a tribute to his skills as a writer and storyteller. A thoroughly good read!"--Thomas M. Grace, author of Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties
"Eli Greenbaum sets the record straight on the thousands of young Americans who, as true patriots, acted with courage and principle in refusing to serve in an unjust war. As a child of the '60s, draft resisters were heroes of mine. Greenbaum serves them well, and he should, considering he was one of them. I hope this book is read and revered by young people of every generation, looking for the same fortitude to do what is right, even if it means being ostracized from their families, their communities, and even their countries. This is history at its best, for which Greenbaum deserves both our gratitude and a salute."--Jeff Kisseloff, author of Generation on Fire: Voices of Protest from the 1960s, an Oral History