Into A Black Sun

Recognized as the author's finest work, Into A Black Sun blurs the line between literature and journalism, drawing on his experiences as a war correspondent in Vietnam to present an immersive depiction of the war. This is not a combat novel, but rather an Asian perspective on one of the wars that shaped modern America.
He tells his stories of the men and women of the land, of the conflicted turmoil of their beliefs and lives and deaths, through prose brought to life through the five senses, realizing the jungles, brothels, and camps of the Vietnam War, with the diverse people entrapped by it.
And in the telling, he reveals the enormous contradictions that the war revealed in friend and foe alike.

Long out of print, this edition brings Kaiko's immersive journey into the depths of the Vietnam War to a generation that is already forgetting the lessons learned there.

“At last the sights, sounds, and smells of wartime Vietnam have been rendered by a master. Writing from the viewpoint of a neutral Japanese journalist, Kaiko filters his tale through an idiosyncratic but deeply compassionate sensibility. No other account of Vietnam has been so vivid, so intimate, or so moral. --Edmund White One of the best works of fiction, or fact, that I've read about Vietnam. It revived more of that experience than I ever realized memory had retained. --Bruce Dunning, CBS News Correspondent, Vietnam 1970-73 A novel by an uncompromising artist that turns Vietnam into a major work of art. --Masuji Ibuse, author of Black Rain Every writer, every soldier, had his own private Vietnam. This is the most original account that I have read. --Murray Sayle, Sunday Times Correspondent, Vietnam 1965-75”

At last the sights, sounds, and smells of wartime Vietnam have been rendered by a master. Writing from the viewpoint of a neutral Japanese journalist, Kaiko filters his tale through an idiosyncratic but deeply compassionate sensibility. No other account of Vietnam has been so vivid, so intimate, or so moral.
--Edmund White

One of the best works of fiction, or fact, that I've read about Vietnam. It revived more of that experience than I ever realized memory had retained.
--Bruce Dunning, CBS News Correspondent, Vietnam 1970-73

A novel by an uncompromising artist that turns Vietnam into a major work of art.
--Masuji Ibuse, author of Black Rain

Every writer, every soldier, had his own private Vietnam. This is the most original account that I have read.
--Murray Sayle, Sunday Times Correspondent, Vietnam 1965-75

Takeshi Kaiko (1930 - 1989) was a popular Japanese author of late 20th century, active in novels, short stories, essays, criticism, and even television scripting. Kaikō was a teenager when World War II ended and his nation left in ruin, but matured as a writer while Japan grew into its post-War economic boom. His first published work, "Nameless City" (1953), was ignored by the media, but in 1957 he won the Akutagawa Prize with "The Naked King," examining the pressures on school children in Japan. As a war correspondent in Vietnam with the Asahi Shimbun he was imprisoned by the Viet Cong. Cecilia Segawa Seigle is Professor Emerita of Japanese Studies in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations of the University of Pennsylvania. Born in Japan, she came to the United States in 1954, receiving her B.A. from Western College for Women, M.A. from Bryn Mawr College, and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Her first book was Yoshiwara - the Glittering World of the Japanese Courtesan, followed by numerous others including The Family by Toson Shimazaki, and Darkness in Summer and Five Thousand Runaways by Takeshi Kaikō, as well as co-translating The Temple of Dawn by Yukio Mishima with E. Dale Saunders. Mike Dubisch can see into other dimensions, they say. His art and subject matter are pulled from pulp science-fiction, EC comics, Heavy Metal, fantasy art and horror fiction, and he cites his greatest influences fantasy and comics illustrators Frank Frazetta, Richard Corben, Bernie Wrightson, Moebius, Barry Windsor Smith, Wally Wood, Greg Irons, Alex Niño and Jack Kirby. In recent years Dubisch has become a figure in the world of Cthulhu Mythos fandom, publishing his Cthulhu Mythos space fantasy Weirdling, a graphic novel collecting his independent comic books, and releasing the limited edition collectible art-book The Black Velvet Necronomicon: Black Velvet Cthulhu. Dubisch paintings are usually created in mixed media, utilizing pencil, colored ink, gouache, and colored pencil. In his work, he strives to put human into the inhuman-to render the unreal as real-to make a static image appear full of movement, and to render shadow as full of light. Mike can be reached at dubisch.com and facebook.com/MikeDubischArt.

Recognized as the author's finest work, Into A Black Sun blurs the line between literature and journalism, drawing on his experiences as a war correspondent in Vietnam to present an immersive depiction of the war. This is not a combat novel, but rather an Asian perspective on one of the wars that shaped modern America. He tells his stories of the men and women of the land, of the conflicted turmoil of their beliefs and lives and deaths, through prose brought to life through the five senses, realizing the jungles, brothels, and camps of the Vietnam War, with the diverse people entrapped by it. And in the telling, he reveals the enormous contradictions that the war revealed in friend and foe alike. Long out of print, this edition brings Kaiko's immersive journey into the depths of the Vietnam War to a generation that is already forgetting the lessons learned there.

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