Vietnam
A New History
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
The definitive history of modern Vietnam, lauded as "groundbreaking" (Guardian) and "the best one-volume history of modern Vietnam in English" (Wall Street Journal) and a finalist for the Cundill History Prize
In Vietnam, Christopher Goscha tells the full history of Vietnam, from antiquity to the present day. Generations of emperors, rebels, priests, and colonizers left complicated legacies in this remarkable country. Periods of Chinese, French, and Japanese rule reshaped and modernized Vietnam, but so too did the colonial enterprises of the Vietnamese themselves as they extended their influence southward from the Red River Delta. Over the centuries, numerous kingdoms, dynasties, and states have ruled over -- and fought for -- what is now Vietnam. The bloody Cold War-era conflict between Ho Chi Minh's communist-backed Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the American-backed Republic of Vietnam was only the most recent instance when war divided and transformed Vietnam.
A major achievement, Vietnam offers the grand narrative of the country's complex past and the creation of the modern state of Vietnam. It is the definitive single-volume history for anyone seeking to understand Vietnam today.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Goscha (Indochina: An Ambiguous Colonization, 1858 1954), associate professor of history at the Universit du Quebec Montr al, prioritizes the Vietnamese perspective in this sterling history of the Southeast Asian nation. This is a substantial and accessible volume that starts in ancient times and runs to the 21st century. Combining trustworthy secondary sources with documents, letters, and other recently discovered or released primary sources, Goscha succeeds in emphasizing "Vietnam's own role in shaping its history" and highlighting "the country's extraordinary diversity and complexity." He positions Vietnam as a multiplicity rather than a political entity unified over time, and addresses the effects of imperialism and colonialism. Goscha devotes just two chapters (of 14) to the Second Indochina War (known to his fellow Americans as the Vietnam War), and his relatively short but illuminating narrative of the war foregrounds Vietnamese history, society, culture, and politics. Refreshingly, he barely mentions American presidents, politicians, generals, and war-policy makers. The latter parts of the book, addressing modern Vietnam, are replete with references and comparisons to what came before in Vietnamese history, primarily events related to the roles of the Chinese and French conquerors of Indochina. After reading this book, even dyed-in-the-wool American exceptionalists will surely think of Vietnam as a country, not a war. Maps & illus.
Customer Reviews
Connecting the dots
This is a unique and fresh new history of Vietnam that provides anyone interested in Vietnamese history with multiple “a ha!” moments thanks to Goscha’s perceptions and connections. He does an excellent job of connecting the dots between Vietnam’s most relevant historical periods, revealing how each led to the other and their ultimate connection to the Vietnam of today.
Thanks Christopher!
Outstanding History of Vietnam
Complex well done analysis of Vietnamese history and how the country evolved into its current day form. One notes particularly the way Chinese and Soviet communism failed because of the inability to respect individual freedoms.