Chickenhawk. by Mason, Robert - 1983

New York: The Viking Press, 1983. First edition, early printing of Mason's classic first book. Octavo, original half cloth. Fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket illustration by Peter Cox. This affecting sequel to Chickenhawk , a 1983 memoir of Vietnam, covers Mason's postwar life and his struggle with the classic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder: overwhelming restlessness, panic attacks and inability to hold a job. After finding relief in writing about his tour as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, he then took a major misstep by joining a drug-smuggling venture that involved a sailboat voyage across the Caribbean. Caught by U.S. customs authorities, Mason found himself facing the shame of trial and the terror of prison. During this critical period, he received the news that Viking had accepted the book in hand for publication. Thus: ``While I was experiencing the highest moment of my life, I was also experiencing the lowest moment of my life.'' Mason has a powerful personal tale that should have wide appeal. His account of the smuggling misadventure and his imprisonment in Florida are searing.