Vanna's Sow

About the Book

… interlocking stories of lives changed by conflicts between invisible power centers in Asia and America; from the end of the war in Viet Nam to the war on terror.

About the Author

History is incomplete without recognizing the malingering personal impact of war. This history of survivors’ lives is best told as a novel; revealing exciting stories of real people who just missed becoming a statistic as “collateral damage”. Vanna’s Sow does this. It flowed from the authors briefcase which was full of anecdotes recorded on yellow legal pads, short stories written late at night when sleep was denied, newspaper clippings, and photos collected during his many years of first hand observation. As a contract employee in post conflict communities during his thirty year career in reconstruction and development, John Hanson had the opportunity to work on four continents in five countries. Daily work required personal contact with people surviving conflict. Contact with many continued during subsequent years. Hanson lost confidence during this period; confidence in the significance of the politics of conflicts. He learned to dislike the media and academic’s shallow treatment of lives entrapped by war; marginalized by the label “collateral damage.” He viewed tales of the survivors as not only fascinating, but as necessary experiences for foreign policy wonks.