When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References
- François Marie Savina (2.3, referenced throughout)
- Søren Kierkegaard (3.21)
- Vincent van Gogh (3.21)
- Gustave Flaubert (3.21)
- Lewis Carroll (3.21)
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot (3.21)
- Marcel Proust (10.11)
- Christopher Robbins, The Ravens: Pilots of the Secret War of Laos (10.15)
- T.D. Allman (10.23)
- Jane Hamilton-Merritt, Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992 (10.24)
- Tzvetan Todorov (12.35)
- Alice in Wonderland (14.27)
- Joyce Kilmer (15.33)
- E.M. Forster (16.51)
- René Descartes (16.56, referenced throughout)
- Arthur Kleinman (17.44)
Historical References
- Sima Qian (2.3)
- Huang-ti (2.5)
- Pa Chay Vue (2.8)
- Hippocrates (3.22)
- Jean-Pierre Willem (4.4)
- Sisavang Vatthana (10.11)
- Ho Chi Minh (10.12)
- Clark Clifford (10.13)
- Harry Truman (10.13)
- John F. Kennedy (10.13)
- Lyndon Johnson (10.13, referenced throughout)
- Jimmy Carter (10.13)
- Dwight Eisenhower (10.13)
- Richard Nixon (10.14)
- Yang Dao (10.28, referenced throughout)
- Henry Kissinger (10.36)
- Prince Souvanna Phouma (10.36, referenced throughout)
- Ronald Reagan (14.10)
- Senator Alan Simpson (14.31)
- Christopher Columbus (16.9)
- Betsy Ross (16.9)
Pop Culture References
- Zorro (10.21)
- The Exorcist (11.10)
- Sleeping Beauty (13.6)
- MASH (13.12)
- American Graffiti (16.1)
- Winnie the Pooh (19.9)
- Hulk Hogan (19.11)
- Macho Man Randy Savage (19.11)