Fourth uncle in the mountain : a memoir of a barefoot doctor in Vietnam
(Book)

The odyssey of a single-father folk hero and his foundling son in a war-ravaged South Vietnam. Fourth Uncle in the Mountain is the true story of an orphan adopted by a sixty-four-year-old monk, who holds great responsibility for his community as a barefoot doctor. Throughout the French, Communist, and American wars, the monk struggles against all odds to raise his son to follow in his footsteps, and, in doing so, saves his son as well as a part of Vietnam's esoteric knowledge from the Vietnam holocaust. The father, Thau Van Nguyen, practices an ancient lineage of Chinese medicine and uses magic to protect animals and help people. As wise and resourceful as Thau is, he meets his match in his mischievous son, Quang, who is more interested in learning sorcery and martial arts than in developing his skills according to his father's plan. Fourth Uncle in the Mountain captures the rich culture of a country where ghosts and magic are real.