Fourth Uncle in the Mountain: The Remarkable Legacy of a Buddhist Itinerant Doctor in Vietnam

by Marjorie Pivar and Quang Van Nguyen

Book Overview

Fourth Uncle in the Mountain is an odyssey of a single-father folk hero and his foundling son in a land ravaged by the atrocities of war. It is a classic story complete with humor, tragedy, and insight, from a country where ghosts and magic are real.

Set during the French and American wars in South Vietnam, Fourth Uncle in the Mountain is the true story of an orphan, Quang Van Nguyen, adopted by a sixty-four-year-old...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312314310
• ISBN13: 9780312314316
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful, Beautiful and Deep.... Best Book I've Ever Read.

Reading this book, took me to a place far away... One easily forgets that this book was NOT written hundreds of years ago. With all the details, explanations and stories... you feel like your watching a movie... and hoping it will never "end".. As an herbalist and acupuncturist, I felt some connections with the Author, however I cannot even relate to his level of education and knowledge, due to his extensive training... and my 4 years of schooling... This is simply the best book I have ever read. It has moved me, changed my views in many ways and has made me want to be a better healer.... thank you my friend... whom I've never met...

Fourth Uncle is Fantastic

In buddhist legend, meditation adepts attain a "samadhi fantastic beyond description". This is Fourth Uncle. The magic, sorcery, and martial art stories give way to the natural magic of one pointed concentration - in the cave of the primoridal, original, and pristine mind. I enjoyed this book so much, in spite of the tragic backdrop of pre and post Vietnamese war history. There is a great human truth here, that goes beyond religions, in the narration that radiates out through the eyes of a child coming into adulthood. There is also a lot of what is called by aboriginal peoples, "indigenous knowledge" about Viet Nam, which sadly may be disappearing because of enviromental desecration. This book is also a hommage to the folk doctor tradition. This tradition, so vital to the revitalization of the human spirit, is also in danger of being marginalized by institutionalized medicine. Better that it be accommodated for what it is - natural wisdom.

Incredible!

This breathtaking autobiography has resonated really with me. Coming from a Vietnamese background as well as having a lineage of traditional healers, Quang's story has the same tones within the realm of traditional medicine that were told to me as a child. As an acupuncture student, Quang's journey had a lot similarities to that in which I'm encountering. It was amazing reading this book because every step of the way, you felt as if you were with him. With mysticism/magic, acupuncture, herbs, ghosts, spirits, and myriad of characters, Fourth Uncle... is truly one of the greatest qutobiographies that I've read in a long time.

Monks Magic

38 years ago I left South Vietnam hoping we could keep this beautiful country free of communism. I have been back there many times..in the windows of my mind. I didn't know it then but now I know ...I find Southeast Asia it's lanscape, flora and fauna and most of all its people enchanting. As I read Fouth Uncle I knew I had been transported back to a lifetime of innocence and arrogance. The story brings back so much of what I experienced yet was too young and scared to digest. The detail of life and surroundings brought to me by the authors was, interstingly, soothing. Most times memories of Vietnam bring pain, fear and lonliness from the inner-reaches of my mind, heart and soul...Fouth Uncle embraced me, enveloped me with a peacefulness and a longing...for Southeast Asia. This was a book I had hoped didn't have an ending. A wondefully easy, enchanting and touching read. G. D. Woodside, Jr, Ed.D. USMC Nam 65-66 Chu Lai - DaNang

Uniquely Vietnamese

Thank you Quang and Marjorie for writing this book. There are hundreds of books about the Vietnam war, but so few about its people. This book is a rare peek into the Vietnamese culture and religion. Quang's religion is one of 2 uniquely South Vietnamese religions. American readers may see the stories he tells as superstition but they are true and part of our experience. I was only 10 years old when I came to the U.S. I remembered stories such as the ones told. I only wish the printer had put in the accents for the Vietnamese words, and that Marjorie hadn't turn all the Vietnamese names around. This is important because some of the figures in Quang's religion are historical figures. This book has a place of honor on my shelf and I intend to purchase multiple copies for my brothers and sisters.