Vietnam Books

A Rumor of War Phillip Caputo First person account of early U.S. military intervention in Vietnam. Set in central Vietnam. Indicates that U.S. military on the ground knew the situation was dire from the very beginning. A very dour book that concludes that the U.S. mission was doomed. Also, very effective counter to anyone who believes that warfare is glorious. Vietnam Now David Lamb Reporter returns to Vietnam in the 1990s. Casual review of U.S.-Vietnam relations, Vietnamese political and economic changes. Set largely in Hanoi. The Sacred Willow Duong Van Mai Elliott Written by Vietnamese woman describing history of her family in Vietnam from the late 19th century to the end of the 20th century. From great-grandfather, a mandarin for the Vietnamese monarchy, to sister who supported Ho Chi Minh in the 1940s and 1950s. Set in various locations in northern Vietnam and Saigon. The narrative provides interesting data about life in northern Vietnam – many books by Vietnamese that I’ve read focus on the south and also detail the experiences of a well-educated and prestigious family – in contrast to stories about the lives of peasants. The Mekong Milton Osborne Description of initial European discovery of the Mekong and the history of political entities on its shores. Particular detail on the French attitude toward the Mekong nations, blending fascination with the history with a lack of respect for the local residents. Some discussion of recent events impacting the Mekong, such as dams and development, but more focus on historical issues. When Heaven and Earth Changed Places Le Ly Hayslip Memoir of Vietnamese woman from the late 1950s through the Vietnam War. Initially set in small village near Da Nang, it provides a Vietnamese perspective of how the Viet Cong related to the peasants. Provides some answers to some of the main questions in books by former U.S. military – who were the Viet Cong and how did they blend into the countryside. A good companion to a book like A Rumor of War in which the American military could never really figure out who was who among the native population. It fleshes out the Vietnamese as more than stock figures. Shadows and Wind Robert Templer A well-written review of various aspects of Vietnamese life, with particular emphasis on the role of the Vietnamese government in culture, economics, and politics. Largely critical of Vietnamese progress on pluralism, human rights, and open society. Written in 1997, during a time period when the Communist party was reigning in economic liberalization and cultural openness, while trying to strengthen its control over Vietnamese civil society. Does not gloss over the warts. I would like to see an updated version to see the author’s view of changes in the last decade. Ho Chi Minh William J. Duiker Comprehensive biography of Ho Chi Minh covering his entire life. Detailed description of Ho that also puts his life in the context of the spread of global communism, Vietnamese nationalism. Was Ho a communist first or a nationalist first? The book provides ammunition for both arguments, but really supports that position that it probably did not matter to Ho. As long as he did not have to choose between the two, he avoided doing so. Ho appears to have taken more from Lenin than Marx, with an emphasis on party organization and working within existing political configurations to bring about a two stage revolution – first as part of a broad coalition and then as the vanguard of the proletariat. Excellent research spells out Ho’s life in France, Russia, and China, as well as in the jungle in northern Vietnam. Also, provides a well-constructed history of the Vietnamese communist party and its relationship with China and the USSR. Vietnam’s policy of playing China and the USSR off of each other, balanced by the fear of betrayal by either communist giant, may have some relevance to how Vietnam now tries to balance its relationships with China and the US. Good Morning Hanoi Iain Finlay and Trish Clark Two retired Australian journalists recently spent a year working for the Voice of Vietnam English language section in Hanoi. Written in a very casual style – more similar to my monthly e-mails to friends from Thailand and Uganda – the book does a nice job at incorporating interesting bits about Vietnamese culture and history into a breezy travelogue or worklogue. At times the writing is a bit too upbeat and the lingo very particularly Australian, but it still is a good glimpse into working in a Vietnamese government office, intra-office relationships among the Vietnamese staff and how well-educated foreigners can fit into Vietnamese society (or not). Vietnam: A History Stanley Karnow Encyclopedic review of the American experience in Vietnam. Not everyone believes there are strong parallels between Vietnam and Iraq, but I believe this book highlights several similarities. Not so much in the history of the two countries, but in two other ways. First, as Karnow highlights for Vietnam, both suffer from a lack of a strong domestic partner. Without such a partner, the U.S. cannot leave the country without failing to meet its goals. At the same time, the more the U.S. remains involved, the less the local governments seem to be prepared to take over once the U.S. leaves. Secondly, after reading Karnow, you can see how fighting the wars caused the Bush administration to suffer from the same flaws as the Johnson and Nixon administrations – dissembling, inconsistent policies, willingness to sacrifice domestic goals or American values to keep fighting, inability or unwillingness to understand the opponent. Also, parallels in friction between the executive and the legislative branches and how the American public perceived the wars. Vietnam: A Traveler’s Literary Companion John Balaban/Nguyen Quic Duc Ed. A collection of short stories by Vietnamese authors all set in Vietnam. Some focus on rural life, others on cities. Most drafted in 1996, some deal with events of that time period, while a few focus on the war period. One or two deal with returning Vietnamese expatriates. Most are well written and most are sad. Not sure if that is typical of Vietnamese literature or simply this collection, but many of the stories focus on death. Tangerine Colin Cheong Fictional story of a young Singaporean traveling across Vietnam to join several college friends for a vacation in Hanoi. Vietnam is the background for the 1993 journey and while not the prime focus of the book, the author provides many details about the people and country. A short book and a quick read. The Girl in the Picture Denise Chong The story of Kim Phuc, the little girl immortalized in the war photo showing her running naked after being burned by napalm. A very well written book that provides useful and enlightening information about the life of a prosperous southern peasant family during the war, its impact on them, their community, and the region, and on the role of the new northern-based communist government in the south. Kim’s story provides the structure for the book, which reviews her use by the communist regime for propaganda, her travel and study abroad, and her emigration to Canada. Notable for its discussion of Kim’s close relationship to Pham Van Dong and its discussion of the role of Cao Dai in the lives of the residents of Thay Ninh. Additionally, Kim spent the late 1980s and early 1990s studying in Cuba and the book draws interesting comparisons between Vietnam’s opening up and economic liberalization and Cuba’s clamping down. By the time Kim left Havana, the two countries had switched places. After Sorrow Lady Borton Enlightening, yet infuriating. The author spends several seasons in two rural Vietnamese villages, one in the south and one in the north, during the late 1980s and early 1990s – a period in which almost no Americans entered the country. Her fluency in the language and clear empathy for her new friends and neighbors allows her to learn more about the daily life of rural Vietnamese than any diplomat ever will. She drafts wonderful descriptions about the interactions among members of these communities. However, her credulousness, or maybe her willful blindness to the circumstances surrounding her visit strongly limit the value of her book. She rarely critiques the communist regime and prints without any context any criticism of America’s Vietnam policy or the government of South Vietnam. Examples: She favorably quotes one rural villager’s criticism of Ngo Dinh Diem – that he could not represent Vietnam because he had lived in the U.S. for 4 years between 1950 and 1954. At no point, does she mention Ho Chi Minh’s 30 years abroad. In the early 1990s, she marvels at the business acumen of the children of the local party leaders who now ran many privatized village industries. But she never wonders why these well-connected sons and daughters, and not other villagers, ended up with the businesses. Finally, the Vietnamese government chose the villages in which she could stay and sent minders with her for most (if not all) of her stays. While it appears that these minders genuinely became her friends, she never addresses the possibility that the government did not just choose a random village for her to visit and that her neighbors might not have been representative of all Vietnamese peasants. The River’s Tale Edward A. Gargan Journalist travels down the Mekong from Tibet to Vietnam, passing through Yunnan, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia on his way. I enjoyed comparing his observations to what I saw when I traveled on parts of the river in Thailand and Laos. Passionate about the preservation of Tibetan culture in the face of a Chinese onslaught, Gargan tries to find traditional culture wherever he travels. On the downside, his descriptions are sometimes overwrought and overly adjectival and he tries to insert deep meaning where it doesn’t always seem appropriate. Only the final two chapters focus on Vietnam and his path down through the Mekong Delta. He presents a fair description of the people he meets, with criticisms of the government leavened by pride in the country, criticism of U.S. involvement balanced by frustration at the pace of government reform. Catfish and Mandala Andrew X. Pham Vietnamese-American bicycles his way through Vietnam in the late 1990s. As his tale unfolds, he also describes his family’s earlier life in Vietnam, their escape to America, and their experiences (quite mixed) in this country. Pham’s Vietnamese language skills and memories of his childhood provide him with very successful tools to uncover 1990s Vietnam. He sees the best and the worst of the Vietnamese and their complicated relations with the Viet Kieu who escaped in the 1970s and 1980s. He travels in a country far different from what almost all other foreigners see and clearly describes the ties and bonds between the Viet Kieu and their homeland. His troubled family life shows the hard journey many Vietnamese families had to make once they arrived in the U.S. and the vast space that opened up between those who grew to adulthood in Vietnam versus those born or raised in the U.S. I would love to see an update on his family and whether or not he has returned to Vietnam and, if so, whether his interactions with the locals have shifted as Vietnam’s economy has grown. Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora Andrew Lam A collection of essays from the 1990s and early part of this century touching on the nature of being a Viet Kieu. While Lam, at times, focuses on what he sees as the unique nature of the Vietnamese diaspora in the U.S., I was struck by the similarities of his stories with other immigrant communities, new and old. Lam’s father was a Lieutenant General in the South Vietnamese army and his family escaped right as Saigon fell. Their material transition (jobs, housing) was tough, but quick. However, his father still focuses on Vietnam, despite his success in the U.S. Another book highlighting the ability of young generations to adapt to the U.S. while the older generations still think of themselves as exiles. I would love to compare the Vietnamese and Cuban communities in the U.S. and determine why the Vietnamese community has moderated (somewhat), while the Cuban community has not. The Gangster We Are All Looking For Le Thi Diem Thuy A novel, but most likely fairly autobiographical, this is the story of a young Vietnamese girl who arrived in the U.S. in 1978 with her father. They had left Vietnam in a small boat after the war. Two years later, her mother joins them. Like most Vietnamese fiction that I have read, it is a very sad book. More elliptical and impressionistic than straight-forward, it still clearly presents a difficult and often unhappy transition. Thuy highlights the differences between the countries, light vs. dark, wet vs. dry. Unlike the non-fiction books that I have read by other Viet Kieu, this book seems to highlight isolation from other members of the community. The United States and Vietnam 1787-1941 Robert Hopkins Miller Academic work by former U.S. diplomat. The focus is more on the role that Indochina played in U.S. foreign policy than in U.S.-Vietnam relations themselves. Though the book notes early attempts by U.S. merchants to trade with Vietnam at the start of the 19th century, much of the book details U.S. attempts to mediate disputes over Indochina between the French and the Chinese in the 19th century and with the U.S. reaction to Japan’s steady encroachment in the area prior to World War II. The book frequently cites diplomatic notes and cables involving U.S. ambassadors in Tokyo, London, Paris on China, but rarely anything in Vietnam. Miller does show the early relationship between diplomacy and commercial influences, as well as some information on how U.S.-Asian diplomacy was formed. Daughters of the River Huong Uyen Nicole Duong A melodramatic, fictionalized account of a young woman's history and flight to America, initially set in Hue. Some good bits of background about Vietnamese history, but too often reads like a soap opera. The Grave at Thu Le Catherine Cole Author's recollection of her family's history in Vietnam as French colonialists, blended in with her account of her time in Hanoi recently doing research. Started a bit stilted, but then became surprisingly gripping. Fleshes out the period of French occupation and the lives and times of the French. Usually avoids sentimentalism and an over-abundance of guilt. The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien A set of semi-fictional short stories set during the Vietnam War. Vietnam really only forms the background. You don't learn much about the country or the people. At the same time, that's not the point of the stories, which are about the experiences of American soldiers during and after the war. Very moving and poignant.