Rounds Complete by Steve Gower

[Mike Cecil]

Gents,

Just finished reading 'Rounds Complete: An Artillery Forward Observer in Vietnam' by Steve Gower. It is a thoughtful and well written personal view of his year as an FO in South Vietnam, with a fair amount of technical artillery info distilled into a language the average reader can understand.

Having worked for Steve Gower at the Australian War Memorial for 10 years (he was 'The Director'), I can 'hear' him narrating this - his strong personality certainly comes through in his writing.

An abbreviations list would have been helpful, despite the 'defined first use' system the book uses, and the publisher's blurb on the back says he was 'sent' to Vietnam (a touchy point with some vets), whereas the text makes no such claim. The maps and diagrams are clear and helpful, and for a nice change, actually indicate all the places mentioned in the text.

This goes on my shelf with other personal accounts that I value highly, such as Gary McKays 'In Good Company' and Robert Mason's 'Chickenhawk'.

Highly recommended, especially to those with more than a passing interest in artillery. Available from Bigsky publishing:

http://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/B...oductview.aspx

Mike