Before the Dawn:

Severely wounded in Vietnam, Block underwent a hellish cycle of operations, drug addiction, flashbacks and despair. Ready to end it all, one night he found himself ``kneeling before God with an empty soul and a body wracked with pain.'' A spiritual redemption occurred and he took the first step on the long road back. Written with freelancer Kimball, Block's account of how he got himself into such a mess in the first place is exceptionally well done. Wanting to prove himself as tough as his father, he turned himself into a classic boozing-brawling-whoring sailor and, upon arrival in Vietnam, joined a group of Navy commandos who, according to the vivid description here, were a mob of sociopaths (the mindless machismo of the teenage warrior has never been more accurately described). Many born-again accounts are flawed by unctious sentimentality, but Block's is not. His straightforward ``witness'' will touch the hearts of readers. Photos. (May)