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Images from the Otherland was originally published in 1995 by McFarland & Company, Inc. The second edition was published in December 2002 by iUniverse, Inc. It is a Vietnam War memoir that includes stories and photographs depicting the author's experiences as an artillery forward observer (India Battery, 3d Battalion 11th Marines) supporting companies of the 7th Marines, and an artillery liaison officer (Golf Battery, 3d Battalion, 12th Marines) for the 2d Battalion, 4th Marines, the "Magnificent Bastards." From Qui Nhon to Chu Lai, Da Nang and Hue; from Operations Starlite, Double Eagle, Texas and others, the author describes the images of combat.

Two decades after the author's tour in Vietnam, the memories of combat began to emerge and threatened to overcome him. Dealing with these images brought him to a deeper respect for, and devotion to, the men with whom he served and a painful realization of the lingering guilt that can haunt a combat veteran. Images from the Otherland traces the origins of Sympson’s feelings of guilt from his Catholic upbringing through some of the bloodiest battles of the early Vietnam War. Then, in an emotional effort to cultivate support for the veterans of Desert Storm, he suddenly discovers that he is actually imploring the community to understand him and his fellow veterans of Vietnam. In the end he realizes he will never fully comprehend his feelings about the war, but that he cannot and should not forget those memories—that he must honor them and the brave Marines and Navy Corpsmen with whom he served.