Red Clay, Yellow Grass by Richard Barager is genuinely gifted as a doctor and writer—one profession saving humans, the other examining the ever-complex condition of the human heart, mind, and soul. Barager has opened a portal to the 1960s and highlighted the pivotal experiences of that era with the polarities of war and consumerism juxtaposed to the age of, Black Power, Feminism, Free-Love, Anti-war, Anti-Draft, Flower Power, Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll.

The main protagonist, David, fought at Khe Sahn, Vietnam; his story was brilliantly penned by Barager, who captured the tumultuous horrors of war David and his fellow marines endured for America with historical accuracy. The cost of American freedom and political outrage were two similar threads woven through the story of David’s life before the war, his survivorship in Korea, and his return home to Minneapolis, Minnesota. He reunited with his radical girlfriend Jackie and the pair shared an emotionally charged relationship where Jackie secretively juggled the hearts of two men in her free-love and drug influence lifestyle—and simultaneously found time to protest women’s rights.

Narrator Jon Noto delivered this vocal performance with emotive verbal inflections coupled with quality vocal differentiation performing interpersonal conversations in an array of settings. Although one could tell that it was the same person playing each character—Noto does add a bit of dry hilarity when playing female roles.

To those who did not experience the 1960s first-hand, the book could be used as a historical novel that showcased the struggles of the era that are eerily similar to many of the social problems Americans face today. Reading Red Clay, Yellow Grass is like stepping back to the tie-dyed 1960s to experience the Age of Aquarius through the wild eyes of two young ill-fated lovers who struggled to find freedom of identity in a world that was rapidly changing.