MP

by Richard Cezar

When Richard Cezar is drafted into the army in the fall of 1965, trained as a military policeman and shipped off to South Korea, he believes that fate has spared him the horrors of a burgeoning war in Vietnam. But instead, he’s thrust into a different kind of war—one that would shake his core beliefs and cripple his ability to deal with the tragic and deadly consequences.

416 pages, Paperback

First published December 22, 2012

About the author

The belief that my life has been extraordinary ends abruptly in my first encounter with one of my fellows. We've all had lives laced with sorrow and exaltation. I have been lucky enough to have traveled a bit more than most. In my journeys, I have been gifted with exposure to multiple cultures and wonderfully diverse points of view. In my writings I endeavor to extract the emotions from those experiences and set them to print. In doing so, I find that we are not so diverse after all, and find that we are partners in the human condition.

Reviews

[Harold Shaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an American Serviceman's sworn job to protect and defend the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. When you swear that oath you also give up a goodly number of your rights under the constitution and indeed you stop living under the laws of the land and start living under the UCMJ, the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Believe me, from one who was there and bought the t-shirt it is not the same thing as living your every day life as a civilian. In many ways it is and in many ways it isn't and if you let it it can turn you into a robotic follower of every command given you by a "superior". Or you can try to work the system and maintain your own individuality, that is the crux of MP by Richard Cezar.

This is a wonderful book, well written obviously from the heart and soul of the author. He made his characters more than just words on a page, they were real, likeable, hateable in some cases, but in every case they were people. People that you could relate to because you've known people just like them which is what truly separates "fiction" from autobiographical and semi-autobiographical novelizations. Fictional characters come in all sizes, shapes and flavors but in most cases you have no doubt that they are fictional. With very few exceptions can you say about a fictional character that you know someone just like him/her, they are almost always larger than life.

Many people tend to stay away from biographies, autobiographies, semi-autobiographies et. al. because after all one of the reasons people read books, see movies watch TV, is to get away from reality for awhile. I have to admit, I am the same way but I made an exception for this book, partially because I am of a similar age as the author, and I was in the military at the same time he was, though not in Korea. I was stationed in much safer places than Richard but only because the locals weren't shooting at us. Nonetheless Nam was still going on, the Cold War was still going on and nuclear annihilation was just a button's push away so the tension and worry he describes is one we were all feeling everywhere. I must say Richard's is one of if not the best I have ever read.

It might not play well for all readers, it might even be a niche book, as today's younger generations may not be able to understand the tensions the world was in in those days. To be sure we live in a tense, dangerous time now but it is a different world by far than it was in the 1960's & 70s. I hope I'm wrong and that a lot of today's generation will read this book and learn from it as well as enjoy it's intriguing storyline and Rick's journey of self discovery in the strange mysterious world of Korea during the Vietnam era.

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just started reading this, but one thing is immediately clear: the writing is superb and there is an edge to the author's observations that is powerful and intriguing ... and the character is still in training, not yet in Korea, where I'm sure the tension will be even greater.

It takes a while for the tension to rise, but the writing is so good that I kept reading along with interest. The story and setting are presented in a believable fashion, as are the internal emotions of the narrator. Then the mystery began to unfold and the pace picked up. Excellent finish. Excellent book.

[Jim A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy for me to identify with Cezar's portrayal of the military, circa 1965-67. I was drafted about four months earlier than he and, while not serving in Korea, I could identify with a lot of the things he described from a military standpoint.

My hat is off to him for writing about his experiences almost fifty years later. Never too late to fulfill one's dream.

[Rick Soper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solders protect us. It's not an easy life. There are good times in the off hours. But there are also the horrors of what can happen on the job. Richard Cezar has an amazing way of writing that takes you into what he was thinking, and what he was going through from the moment he got his draft notice till the day he was finally finished with service. Cezar's writing style is crisp and very well paced and has a tone that really draws you in. I don't read autobiographies, because for the most part they lack the narrative structure I like in fiction, but Cezar has done a great job of pushing his story into a structure that works as any fiction story might. Cezar refers to this story as being semi-autobiographical, so where his story starts and the fiction begins is a bit blurry, but that's because he makes a seemless transition between the two. I have the ultimate respect for anyone who has served our country, and from what Richard Cezar says in his book he tried to do it honestly and as we'll as the army would let him, and he certainly wrote a hell of a good book about his service that I would highly recommend.

[Robert Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good story for it's time period. Great point of view of a young man coming of age during a tough time in American history.
As a fellow veteran I can relate the journey one takes when entering and spending any given time in the Army.
The story captures the moments very vividly and the details are excellent.
Look forward to another story of its kind.

[Vicky Whedbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible book!!

I recommend that everyone should read this no matter what genre you typically read! It will give you a glimpse of the day to day life of the soldiers that put their lives on the line to defend their country!

It's horrific to note that so much of this story is true, and in light of what is happening in Ukraine right now makes it even more sobering!

I found this book fascinating! It's so well written and draws you into every scene like you are there. You will experience a gamut of emotions, even more so, like I said, due to the fact most of it is true!

I am so happy to have found this author! This is the third book of his that I've read and every book has been outstanding! He is an phenomenal writer! Well done Richard Cezar! And thank you so much for your service!

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 60's were a trying and turbulent time in our nation. Social and political issues were front and center - Civil Rights and Vietnam were the topic of water cooler and heated conversations. The future loomed in the minds of many Americans, questions went unanswered, tragedy left us forever scared.��

Richard Cezar was drafted in the fall of 1965. Trained as an MP, deployed to South Korea here he shares his experiences in MP. ��

MP exposes the reader to the nasty politics and ��dark secrets often occurring in the military. It is a story of espionage, love, sex and murder. It is a story of a young man turning into a man. Cezar pens an entertaining read reminding the reader or teaching others how uncertain and fragile this time period was. He certainly does a great job introducing you to his fellow brothers in arms and holds nothing back as far as his antics and personal life goes. Richard also shares the emotional and mental toll his experiences delivered.��

Cezar draws the readers in with just a enough of a teaser at the end of every chapter making your curiosity of what is to follow piqued. You are at attention reading MP. The directness of Richard's writing style makes for a most interesting read. ��Military, civilian, veterans and ��history buffs or readers wanting a great semi-autobiography to devour will be sure to enjoy MP.��

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cezar has obviously 'been there and done that' however I felt that the novel he put together was a little disjointed in an effort to put into one book all the stories he had experienced while serving his country rather than concentrating on moving the over all story forward. All though it was an enjoyable collection of memoir-type stories they didn't always mesh smoothly. There where many times I wanted to know more about how something ended up which he could have perhaps fictionalized but instead left me hanging perhaps because he never knew the outcome himself, but this was supposed to be a novel based on experiences and so an end could have been written in. It does portray quite vividly what our troops stationed over seas on the DMZ went through, and the story is well told.

[Duke Fnord · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good Read

I liked the way that the story was written. It seems as if Mr. Cesar is a real straight shooter. He says what he means and means what he says. I like that. On the other hand, I've been to Korea, and I think that it's exotic enough to warrant a bit more detail.
Some of the stories had me nodding my head in remembrance though, like the description of how kids turn up everywhere to scrounge brass, or the opinions of the Koreans on the subject of a young woman in the company of an American.
All said and done it was quite an enjoyable read.