Patriotism, Peace and Vietnam: A Memoir
by Peggy Hanna

List Price: $11.95
Pages: 115
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780974186511
Publisher: Left to Write

Though there is no shortage of Vietnam-era books, Peggy Hanna’s tale comes from a unique angle – that of a Midwestern Catholic homemaker and “hawk” turned peace activist.

Hanna gives a fascinating inside look at just how far the outposts of the peace movement stretched. Its epicenter may have been on college campuses, but, as Hanna shows, its ripples were felt in the small towns and ranch houses of the Midwest.

Today, the voices of "regular" people doing their part to struggle for peace are more important than ever. Hanna’s voice is a worthwhile addition to that chorus.

top of the page

1. How do the author and her friends change or evolve throughout the course of the story? What events trigger such changes?

2. What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel? What do you think she is trying to get across to the reader?

3. What stereotypes, regarding the peace movement, did you accept as true prior to reading this book? Have your views of peace activists changed?

4. What event in the book was most moving for you? What was the most powerful scene in the book?

5. Prior to reading this book, how would you define patriotism? After reading the book, has your perception of “patriotism” changed? If so, how?

6. What did you find surprising about the facts introduced in this book? Can you relate to the author and the other’s emotions and positions about the war in Vietnam? To the war in Iraq? To what extent do they remind you of yourself or someone you know?

7. How has reading this book changed your opinion of the peace movement? Do you empathize with them or not?

8. Do you believe it is possible to object to a war and still be patriotic?

9. Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does she achieve this?

10. Does the author give consideration to all sides of the debate?

11. Has the book increased your interest in war and peace, activism and politics?

12. Do you feel ‘changed’ in anyway? Did it expand your range of experience or challenge your assumptions? Did reading it help you to understand a person better – perhaps a friend or relative, or even yourself?

13. Have you ever been placed in a situation where you have questioned your own stance on an issue? To defend your stance?

top of the page

"Here is the beautifully rendered story of a woman who changed --- big time. Peggy Hanna changed emotionally, politically, in every way. It is the riveting personal account of a Catholic Vietnam hawk who came to admire the peacemakers at a time when the vast majority of Americans, including the faithful of her own church, had little patience for the peace movement.

Against the urgent cries of "The Russians are coming," and the rising voice of an angry nation…Peggy Hanna saw the light. She also saw the body bags arriving home and the longhairs in the streets, the protesters who touched her heart with their courage and who remain the ones she strives, even today, to emulate in her own life. Peggy Hanna probably didn’t plan it this way, but the timing of this brutally honest memoir is better than even she could have imagined."

—Phil Donahue, Former talk show host

"Peggy Hanna leads us into an antiwar movement beyond the one the media followed. Here in Springfield, Ohio, as elsewhere in small city America, patriotic moms and dads felt betrayed by the war and tried to stop it. A highlight of Hanna's story is her experience with a friend at the 1971 Paris Peace Talks and their reception at home afterward. This book is candidly, engagingly written --- a good read. It is also a passionate plea for understanding, then and now."

—Dr. Charles Chatfield, professor emeritus, Wittenberg University, author of The American Peace Movement and co-author of An American Ordeal: The Antiwar Movement of the Vietnam Era.

"Patriotism, Peace And Vietnam is a memoir of a Catholic, Vietnam war hawk who came to admire the peacemakers in an era when so much of America, including her own church, refused to listen to the peace movement. Dedicated both to those who served their country in Vietnam and those who worked to bring peace, Patriotism, Peace And Vietnam is unflinchingly honest in its assessment of the limitations of human behaviors and the tendency to blind oneself to things one doesn't agree with. Frustration, perseverance, and candid discourse concerning war, fear, and injustice on both a local and national scale distinguish Patriotism, Peace And Vietnam. Highly recommended."

—Small Press Bookwatch, Reviewer’s Choice, June 2004

“Hanna’s memoir testifies to the courage of committed citizens and their power to demand change.”

—Yellow Springs News, Oct. 2, 2003