Dragon Ascending: Vietnam and the Vietnamese

by Henry Kamm

A firsthand report on contemporary Vietnam presents a portrait of a nation that is struggling under the hold of Communism and places the Vietnam War in the perspective of a four-thousand-year history

Genres: History, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 1996

About the author

Henry Kamm, born June 3, 1925, in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland), was a correspondent for The New York Times. He reported for the Times from Southeast Asia (based in Bangkok), Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In 1969, Kamm won the George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting.
Kamm won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1978 for his coverage of the plight of refugees from Indochina.

Reviews

[Dave Bushy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is illuminating for anyone trying to make meaning of the history of Vietnam, the war years (through 1989 with Cambodia) and the difficulties the people encountered under a Communist regime.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

An objective look at Vietnam, it's history, culture, and survival amid colonialization, war, and rebuilding.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book in preparation for my trip to Viet Nam. Kamm is a Pulitzer Prize winning Senior Correspondant for the New York Times who has spent a lot of time in Indochina. He sets the stage by summarizing Vietnam's history but the focusof the book is on the country today. He interviews people who lived in both north and south Vietnam during and after the war- people who represented all sides of the conflict. The book is very enlightening and really gave me a better understanding of the Vietnamese people, their country, and their struggles. The only thing that kept me from giving it a fourth star was that I found Kamm's writing style a little difficult to read.