China Maze

These books are one and the same except that "...Jenny Next" was published in 1981 by E.P.Dutton in NY and Ont. What is intriguing is the fact that a hard copy of the latter, purchased on line, was stamped in red ink: "REMOVE" on the closed edges and "NOT TO BE LOANED". But it still had a library card in the back from the Buffalo-Erie Libray complete with plastic cover. This is very stark evidence of the antics and power of the CIA during those years as well as Truman's paranoid fear of China. Believable? You bet and you better if the people are to insist on contols to prevent a repeat of such wanton activities from ever happening again. It was not felt that the project and the results obtained were worth the cost of one service man's life much less the eight or more that gave their all. If anyone ever deserved the Medal of Honor, Gardella did and still does.

Mr. Gardella book, China Maze is not only an account of events that need to be revieled to the public regarding what happend to him, but happens to double nicely as a coming of age account. The book is fast paced start to finish. It is not weighted down with excess literary language. Therefore it is accessable to readers at most levels, if not all. It is a coming of age account that is rooted in a military setting. As such, it opens a door into an alternative form of coming of age setting. Typically, coming of age stories are from the civilian arena and presented in literary heavy fiction stories where creativeness is a major part of the account. In China Maze, the account itself out weighs the element of creativeness and is more rewarding in the end. If one choses to believe the authors account, then he/she will gain a valuable insight at many levels.

Mr. Gardella book, China Maze is not only an account of events that need to be revieled to the public regarding what happend to him, but happens to double nicely as a coming of age account. The book is fast paced start to finish. It is not weighted down with excess literary language. Therefore it is accessable to readers at most levels, if not all. It is a coming of age account that is rooted in a military setting. As such, it opens a door into an alternative form of coming of age setting. Typically, coming of age stories are from the civilian arena and presented in literary heavy fiction stories where creativeness is a major part of the account. In China Maze, the account itself out weighs the element of creativeness and is more rewarding in the end. If one choses to believe the authors account, then he/she will gain a valuable insight at many levels.

I just finished 'China Maze' after one sitting. Entirely believable. The time period from then to when he wrote it was one of unbelievable duplicity perpetrated by those in secret power, ie CIA etc. It is a testament to awaken us to the fact that the military power brokers be held accountable on all levels, and not allow ever again the excuses they use such as "for the sake of national security, we must withold that information or source thereof". Also, the practice of sanitizing documents must be revoked, for that is another way of witholding the terrible truths they want to keep hidden.

I enjoyed this book very much. The proluge is shocking, and reveals how decievable our government can be... since, this is a true story. Everyone should read this book, so they could hear of how several American Marines died in China for reasons that could have been avoided.