Undeterred: How One Determined Vietnamese Orphan Carved Out a Place for Himself in America

Undeterred is a story I promise you won’t forget. Author Bruce Carlin relays the remarkable tale of a man named Long, a Vietnamese orphan, who overcame incredible odds to be where he is today. Long’s story is the epitome of the American Dream; coming from quite literally nothing, to a fifty-million-dollar fortune, Long’s story is extraordinary. A true story you don’t want to miss out on, I would recommend this book to all readers, especially those who enjoy success stories.

Long’s story begins with him and his older brother, Duc. Orphans during the Liberation of Saigon, Duc and Long took care of each other and relied on the elderly in their village for food and support. Unfortunately, as the soldiers and tanks moved closer to their village, Long and Duc, two very young boys, find themselves running further and further from their town in fear. They find a group of children, and before long, find themselves with American soldiers on the way to Malaysia, the first stop to make it to the United States. The soldiers are kind and Long and Duc are eventually placed in Camp Pendleton. Here, the boys learn English and are assigned mentors to help them learn American customs. From Camp Pendleton, the boys are moved to various foster care homes for the entirety of their childhood. This was by no means easy on them; often seen as either free labor, or an extra paycheck, they both had to put up with mistreatment, unfavorable jobs, and always had to be polite regardless of unfair situations. From these experiences, Long decides he must learn to be financially independent. Having to depend on foster families is not something he wants to continue. At age fifteen, Long is able to land himself a janitorial job, working nights cleaning office buildings to start accumulating his fortune. He soon realizes that the true gift isn’t his janitorial job; it’s reading the financial magazines he finds in the office wastebaskets which teach him how to invest. The road is only uphill from here. By putting in an incredible amount of hard work and dedication, Long is able to work his way up from janitor to cannon crewman to financial analyst and more. He saves every penny he makes and invests it all, knowing that his frugality will pay off. From finding love to reuniting with lost loved ones, and making millions, Long’s story is not only inspiring but has something of interest for all.