Flower Children

The American Chronicles #9

by Robert Vaughan

In the ninth installment in the series, pilot Bob Parker finds himself in a helicopter above Vietnam, teenage heiress Tina Canfield becomes a hippie in San Francisco, and black veteran Andrew Jackson returns to the South.

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Robert Vaughan is an American writer. He has also written a series of contemporary and historical romance novels under several pseudonyms including "Paula Moore" and "Paula Fairman". His father served in the military and Robert followed him in the 1950s, entering army aviation. He served until the Vietnam War and won numerous medals including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal with several oak-leaf clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal, and several other medals.
His early books reflected his military background: the first novel was about the US Army along the DMZ in Korea, followed by a trilogy set in Vietnam. There are more than 9 million of his books in print under various names. He was inducted into the Writers’ Hall of Fame in 1998.

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final book in the series Tina Canfield, the 17-year old daughter of William and Liesl (Tannenhower) Canfield and three men fighting in Vietnam: Travis Jackson, the son of Andrew Jackson who died in Korea, Lieutenant Colonel Bill Garrison and Chief Warrant Officer Bob Parker.

Tina has run away from home to San Francisco and is living with her hippy friends. Her parents have offered a large reward for her return, but she is living using the alias Tulip Spring and is successful in avoiding being caught. Around the time of Bobby Kennedy’s assassination some things happen that make her change her mind about the choices she has been making.

In Vietnam, Bill Garrison has become a POW and Travis Jackson finds that he is accepted for who he is as a soldier.

The majority of the storyline follows Chief Warrant Officer Bob Parker, He has recently remarried but since his marriage his new wife is refusing to have sex with him. Not that he could have sex with her while in Vietnam. He continues his endeavors to be a successful writer and stay alive while fighting the North Vietnamese and the crazy rules of the Army.

I had a hard time finishing the series. The introduction of Tina Canfield as a hippie seemed almost useless. It’s been clear for the last several books that the author wants to focus on Bob Parker. While Bob Parker’s Vietnam story is compelling, his discord with his wife makes absolutely no sense. She just became this cold, uncaring biddy.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are always fun reads, although it is easier for the author to insert his own politics into a narrative that is so close to the present. I enjoyed this series and am sorry to see it end.