Philip Jones Griffiths: Vietnam At Peace

by John Pilger, Philip Jones Griffiths (Photographer)

Viet Nam At Peace is the monumental chronicle of a country struggling to emerge from the apocalyptic destruction of war, a destruction so seismic that it was thought vainly by many to be the end of all contemporary imperial aggression. It is Tolstoyan in its reach and emotional responses. Philip Jones Griffiths, the author of Vietnam Inc. and Agent Collateral Damage in Viet Nam, has visited Viet Nam 25 times since the end of the war. The first Westerner to travel by road from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City after the war, and later the Ho Chi Minh trail, he has amassed an unparalleled photographic record of the post-war transformation of the country. From the first days of terrible hardships, as the joys of victory were quickly tempered by the reality of the extent of the destruction wreaked by the war, and the crippling effects of the US embargo, he has recorded an uncomfortably comprehensive view of the aftermath of war. This is not simply a record of shattered landscapes; it is also a record of the shattered hearts and minds, culture and hopes. He has witnessed the limbless heroes, the Amerasian children, the boat people, and the re-emergence of the social problems of prostitution and drug addiction as the country embraces consumerism. Equally, here are recognised the horrified attempts by the Vietnamese themselves to curb the hydra of its worst excesses.

312 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2005

About the author

John Richard Pilger was an Australian journalist and documentary maker. He had twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US. Based in London, he is known for his polemical campaigning style: "Secretive power loathes journalists who do their job, who push back screens, peer behind façades, lift rocks. Opprobrium from on high is their badge of honour."

Pilger had received human rights and journalism awards, as well as honorary doctorates. He was also a visiting professor at Cornell University in New York.

Reviews

[M. Fenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool to read something on Viet Nam strictly from that country's point of view. Or, well, from a very sympathetic photographer's point of view. We so screwed that country up, in so many ways. The photos are marvelous, all black and white, and range from scenic to devastating. Pics of agent orange victims, victims of unexploded ordinance (bombs that are still being found and are still injuring people daily), mixed with photos of temples and Ha Long Bay, mixed with photos of what appears to be the victory of capitalism and the poverty it doesn't cure. It's a sobering read. Something about an ancient culture, though, that still survives even after the concerted effort of a world superpower to destroy it is encouraging.