"I never thought that I would read a work of literature on the Vietnam War that I would cherish as much as Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, Tobias Wolff's In Pharaoh's Army, and Bobbie Ann Mason's In Country. But in Silence is Broken, I can now add to that aforementioned list of cherished and highly accomplished works."
Wayne Thomas, Ph.D. in creative writing at the Open University of Wales
"Silence is Broken is a work of historical fiction, a skillfully crafted coming-of-age story. Private Scofield arrives in Vietnam in 1966, naive and filled with boyish patriotism. His is a tale of personal growth cast amidst the realities of war...a story of fiction based on real life and real events.
"The shattering realities of war and the desperate will to live under unimaginable conditions-fighting an enemy both known and unknown-creates a powerful story of childlike immaturity giving way to the wisdom and courage of adulthood. But this story is not only Private Scofield's. It is also that of his family, especially his mother Abigail, who desperately wants to know what he is enduring and that he will come back to her and his family."
"Rosvall has carefully researched the year 1966, the national and international events and the military history of the conflict in Vietnam. Her personal knowledge of Vietnam, the countryside and the people, creates a striking portrait."
Linda Mollno, Ph.D. in history at Cal Poly State University, Pomona
"Excellent book You are right there-in the searing heat and the grind of war alongside Private Bill Scofield. You are there as he fights two wars-one within his own unit and the other in the field. Both are dangerous. Author Susan Rosvall has achieved a real feat: a page-turning novel based on her brother's experiences in Vietnam, with a history lesson thrown in on the side."
Professor Sheri David, Ph.D. in history at Northern Virginia Community College
In January of 1966, naive young Private William Scofield takes his place on a seven-man howitzer crew at Phu Loi base camp, Vietnam. Conflict begins immediately when he encounters head of the gun crew, Sergeant Clifford Moore, an illiterate Klansman from rural Alabama. Enraged by Scofield's very presence as a draftee from a liberal, middle-class family in California, Moore launches a series of increasingly homicidal attacks against him. Scofield gains respect and credibility among the men when he confronts his nemesis. But he does not emerge a true hero until enemy soldiers bearing AK-47's attack the battery through a grove of young rubber trees. In an adrenalin-filled act of courage and self-sacrifice, Scofield saves the lives of eighty men, including Moore's. Swirling with local color and hard facts, the novel reveals a compelling story of survival, growth, and heroism, grounded in the history of the times."