"A Gift of Barbed Wire is a penetrating look at the lives of South Vietnamese officials and their families left behind in Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975." "Some of the people interviewed for the book eventually reached the United States as boat people fleeing Vietnam in unsafe vessels; others arrived, after rigorous screening, through U.S. Government-sponsored programs. But even in the safety of the United States they had to begin anew, devoting all of their remaining energies to survival."--Jacket.

Former Political Prisoners --The Doctor -- The Engineer -- The Tailor -- The Spy -- Former Political Prisoners and Their Families -- The Pilot -- The Pilot's Wife -- The Pilot's Daughter -- The Teacher -- The Teacher's Wife -- The Politician -- The Politician's Wife -- The Politician's Son -- The Politician's Grandson -- The Politician's Daughter-in-Law.