The Bamboo Chest 2nd Edition: An Adventure in Healing the Trauma of War

From Publishers Weekly Haunted by childhood memories of Saigon during the 1968 Tet Offensive, Frederick "Cork" Graham hatches a harebrained scheme in the spring of 1983. He withdraws from his first year in college and uses his school funds to purchase photography equipment and a plane ticket for Thailand. After harrowing events in search of a first big story along the Laotian border, Graham takes to sea and is imprisoned by the Vietnamese. He answers his interrogators accusations of spying by telling them he arrived in Bangkok to start a career as foreign correspondent, and that Richard Knight, a British comedy actor, invited him on the voyage to report on the expedition in search of Captain Kidd's treasure. The Vietnamese can't believe such a farfetched story, and threaten him with a firing squad if he doesn't admit the truth. In a gripping narrative offering a clear sense of time and place using chapters peppered with quotes from media and embassy communications, Graham tells an enriching coming-of-age tale, probes the mysteries of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and digs deep into the secrets, political intrigue, and blunders of what was an international incident recorded on the front-page of newspapers around the world. 45,000 first printing; author tour. 10-city author tour. (Sept) Copyright (c) Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition "stranger than fiction" - The Guardian "masterful job of keeping the reader's attention" - New York Times "electrifying" - The Sunday Times From The Bamboo Chest July 29, 1983 US Embassy telex to the Secretary of State, Washington, D.C.: O 290834Z JUL 83 FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK TO SECSTATE WASHDC "Meanwhile, a consular officer in Singapore spoke with Mr. Grimley on July 28 about this treasure hunt in which he was to take part. Grimley, in a detailed story that can shiver timbers, identified the treasure island as the largest and northern-most in an archipelago appropriately named Iles des Pirates, 18 miles east of the large island of Phu-Quoc, just off the Kampuchean/Vietnamese border. Luckily, Grimley did not know or chose not to reveal the exact locations of treasure on the island, else the vice consul in Singapore may have set her jib by now." 20 Bizarre True Crime Cases to Send the Willies Right Up You!"More interesting than another Ted Bundy book!"Ritual Murder in a Sleepy English Village - In 1945 Britain, witchcraft was long gone, but ask any local from the sleepy town of Lower Quinton, what happened to Charles Walton, and they’ll tell you it was – witchcraft!Headless Body in Topless Bar - If the New York Post’s headline of ‘Headless Body in Topless Bar’ was written to draw you in, then the true story behind it was enough to make you vomit.Visions of Murder - From a brutal murder in London to one of the most convincing cases of psychic mediumship in the history of true crime.Hammer Time - An amateur playwright auditions black women for his new play, Hammer, with the intention of killing them – with a sledgehammer. On one occasion, he succeeded.Captured by his 105th Wife - The ‘Pigamist’ travelled the world, marrying women, then abandoning them two weeks later, after selling all their belongings. This is the bizarre tale of how his 105th wife tracked him down.The Man Who Died Twice - When a fire ripped through a house in Nashville, investigators found the recently deceased body of the owner’s husband, which was unusual, as the man had died ten years earlier.The Haunting of Fox Hollow Farm - From a violent serial killer to a screaming ghost, the story of Herb and the haunting of Fox Hollow Farm, is one true crime tale that’ll send the willies right up you!The Disappearance of Bobby Dunbar - A missing boy is returned to his parents eight months after disappearing. Finally, the family can move on, except, the boy that had come back was not their son at all.The Shark Arm Murder Case - In Sydney, a captive tiger shark vomited a human arm, sparking an investigation that led to one of the most bizarre murder cases you’ll ever read.Factory of Death - When a Russian maniac built an underground textiles factory, he began recruiting young females, not as workers, but to fulfil his twisted dream of owning an army of slaves.+ TEN MORE bizarre true crime stories, perfect for late night reading or a quick tale at lunchtime. Master storyteller A.C. Greene re-creates one of America's most bizarre holdups - one that began as a lark. On Christmas Eve 1927, four men set off to rob the First National Bank of Cisco, Texas. Soon the lark turned into a tragedy - and at times a comedy - of errors. The robbers did not realize the car they had stolen for their getaway was running on empty. The leader did not anticipate the attention his disguise would draw, even though it was a bright red Santa Claus suit. And they could not have known that all of Cisco would have guns at hand because the Bankers Association had offered a reward of $5000 for any dead bank robber, no questions asked. The Santa Claus bank robbery set off a chain of events that would lead to violence and the death of six men and launch the largest manhunt Texas had ever seen.. "A.C. Greene's factual account of the unusual crime reads like a novel - fast paced, full of unexpected turns, and rich with the flavor of life in Texas at the beginning of the end of the Old West. This new edition contains an Afterword with photographs, some of them never before published, and follow-up information on the lives of the participants, including the surviving robber, witnesses and kidnap victims. Master storyteller A. C. Greene re-creates one of Americas most bizarre holdupsone that began as a lark. On Christmas Eve 1927, four men set off to rob the First National Bank of Cisco, Texas. Soon the lark turned into a tragedyand at times a comedyof errors. The robbers did not realize the car they had stolen for their getaway was running on empty. The leader did not anticipate the attention his disguise would draw, even though it was a bright red Santa Claus suit. And they could not have known that all of Cisco would have guns at hand because the Bankers Association had offered a reward of $5,000 for any dead bank robber, no questions asked. The Santa Claus bank robbery set off a chain of events that would lead to violence and the death of six men and launch the largest manhunt Texas had ever seen. A. C. Greenes factual account of the unusual crime reads like a novelfast paced, full of unexpected turns, and rich with the flavor of life in Texas at the beginning of the end of the Old West. This new edition contains an Afterword with photographs, some of them never before published, and followup information on the lives of the participants, including the surviving robber, witnesses, and kidnap victims. Master storyteller A.C. Greene re-creates one of America's most bizarre holdups-one that began as a lark. On Christmas Eve 1927, four men set off to rob the First National Back of Cisco, Texas. Soon the lark turned into a tragedy-and at times a comedy-of errors. The robbers did not realize the car they had stolen for their getaway was running on empty. The leader did not anticipate the attention his disguise would draw, even though it was a bright red Santa Claus suit. And they could not have known that all of Cisco would have guns at hand because the Bankers Association had offered a reward of $5000 for any dead bank robber, no questions asked. The Santa Claus bank robbery set of a chain of events that would lead to violence and death of six men and launch the largest manhunt Texas had ever seen. A.C. Greene's factual account of the unusual crime reads like a novel-fast paced, full of unexpected turns, and rich with the flavor of life in Texas at the beginning of the end of the Old West Master storyteller A. C. Greene re-creates one of America s most bizarre holdupsone that began as a lark. On Christmas Eve 1927, four men set off to rob the First National Bank of Cisco, Texas. Soon the lark turned into a tragedyand at times a comedyof errors. The robbers did not realize the car they had stolen for their getaway was running on empty. The leader did not anticipate the attention his disguise would draw, even though it was a bright red Santa Claus suit. And they could not have known that all of Cisco would have guns at hand because the Bankers Association had offered a reward of