Book Review: Luck's a Fortune

[Mike Cecil]

One of the good things about summer is when it gets a bit warm in the workshop, I can always retire to the library and catch up on some reading. The latest book is the autobiography of Jeffrey Keith Tun Tin, titled 'Luck's a Fortune'.

I was moved to purchase the book (ISBN 978-1-925263-27-5) because Jeffrey served two-tours with 3 Cavalry Regiment in South Vietnam, as part of an army career spanning 27 years. Indeed, most of the book is about Jeffrey's army career.

Upon reading the unusual disclaimers from both the editor and the publisher, Peacock Publications, on page 4, it became evident this was not going to be the usual sort of bio. And it wasn't! Anyone with a predilection for political correctness, this is NOT the book for you. But if you want a 'warts-and-all', no-holds-barred, personal view of life and people in the army in peacetime and on operations in Vietnam, then it is well worth the effort to read it.

Jeffrey is no great writer (and I think his editor could have done a better job of sorting into more sensible paragraphs), but the essence of the book is that these are Jeffrey's views and thoughts, expressed in his own words laced with a liberal dose of four-letter words and delivered with his dry sense of humour. I greatly enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone interested in military history.

Mike