Description: With the same passion for truth and stunning honesty that marks his highly acclaimed fiction, Albert French's remarkable memoir tells the story of a young man's encounter with a war and with deaths beyond his understanding, of his return to a country torn by racial unrest in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and of his painstaking efforts to defeat his inner demons and make a place for himself as a black man in white America. Personal, lyrical, and extraordinary, Patches of Fire is a memorable exploration of the black soldier's experience in Vietnam, the plight of the Vietnam veteran, and the redemptive power of writing.

"Searingly honest...a classic tale". -- The New York Times Book Review

"An extraordinary memoir. Its vivid imagery has readers crouching with (Albert French) in foxholes and crawling on the wet, muddy ground during battle. We sense his fear and cheer his courage". -- USA Today

"Speaks not only to the desolation that scorches one's soul but also to the passions that rekindle it. French reveals that there are times to desperately, but joyfully, cling to life". -- Emerge

"The most accomplished Vietnam War memoir since Lewis B. Puller's Prize-winning Fortunate Son". -- Kirkus Reviews

"With meticulous attention to detail and writing that is graceful and funny, French brings you inside the war...haunting". -- The Boston Globe

"The war in Vietnam has always seemed more elusive than any other conflict in the nation's history, which is why only a few writers -- Michael Herr and Tim O'Brien chief among them -- have been successful at conveying its horrible chaos. now we can add Albert French to that short list". -- The San Francisco Chronicle

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