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Saigon: A History
Saigon (since 1976, officially Hồ Chi Minh City but widely still referred to as Saigon) is the largest metropolitan area in modern Vietnam and has long been the country's economic engine. This is the city's complete history, from its humble beginnings as a Khmer village in the swampy Mekong delta to its emergence as a major political, economic and cultural hub. The city's many transitions through the hands of the Chams, Khmers, Vietnamese, Chinese, French, Japanese, Americans, nationalists and communists are examined in detail, as well as the Saigon-led resistance to collectivization and the city's central role in Vietnam's perestroika-like economic reforms.
307 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2011
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February 15, 2012
While the coverage of all things pre-Republic of Vietnam highlights the history of Saigon fairly well, once we get to the 1960's it seems the concept was abandoned for a treatise on the entire Republic and its defense against the Communist North. Saigon, as a city, was certainly a major player in that role and is mentioned but takes a backseat to rhetoric on the war, why it was lost and eventually the obvious transition to a critique of post-1975 Vietnam in general.
The book also skips around in chronology but without a replacement theme to tie events together and introduces names that you are expected to know but will not expound upon until later. It seems as though it was drawn from a series of loosely connected articles thrown together rather than a cohesive book.
I will give the author credit for a good update of current Saigon that recognizes the strides made, which you might be hard-pressed to find other Vietnamese-Americans willing to write about. Overall, the baggage he mentions that Viet Kieu often carry does weigh down his own work as well.
Would like to rate it higher, but author should have stuck to the concept mentioned in the title instead of going for a definitive history of Vietnam from 1954 onward (particularly when it starts halfway into the book).
The book also skips around in chronology but without a replacement theme to tie events together and introduces names that you are expected to know but will not expound upon until later. It seems as though it was drawn from a series of loosely connected articles thrown together rather than a cohesive book.
I will give the author credit for a good update of current Saigon that recognizes the strides made, which you might be hard-pressed to find other Vietnamese-Americans willing to write about. Overall, the baggage he mentions that Viet Kieu often carry does weigh down his own work as well.
Would like to rate it higher, but author should have stuck to the concept mentioned in the title instead of going for a definitive history of Vietnam from 1954 onward (particularly when it starts halfway into the book).
Displaying 1 of 1 review