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A Brief History of Vietnam: Colonialism, War and Renewal: The Story of a Nation Transformed
A comprehensive guide to understanding Vietnam's long and tumultuous history
A Brief History of Vietnam explores the turbulent history of a land that has risen from the ashes of war to become the newest Asian tiger economy. This book expertly examines the history of a people and a nation with ancient roots which only took its current shape in the 19th century under French colonial rule, and its current name in 1945.
Before that, Vietnam was known by many names, under many rulers. Located in the geographic center of Southeast Asia, the country we call "Vietnam" was ruled by China, then by a series of Vietnamese emperors, and by the French. A devastating, decades-long conflict for independence ensued, ending with the conclusion of the Vietnam War in 1975. Key topics discussed in this fascinating book
Journalist Bill Hayton's accessible prose makes A Brief History of Vietnam an essential study of a complex culture at the heart of Southeast Asia--and the roots of its current economic dynamism.
A Brief History of Vietnam explores the turbulent history of a land that has risen from the ashes of war to become the newest Asian tiger economy. This book expertly examines the history of a people and a nation with ancient roots which only took its current shape in the 19th century under French colonial rule, and its current name in 1945.
Before that, Vietnam was known by many names, under many rulers. Located in the geographic center of Southeast Asia, the country we call "Vietnam" was ruled by China, then by a series of Vietnamese emperors, and by the French. A devastating, decades-long conflict for independence ensued, ending with the conclusion of the Vietnam War in 1975. Key topics discussed in this fascinating book
Journalist Bill Hayton's accessible prose makes A Brief History of Vietnam an essential study of a complex culture at the heart of Southeast Asia--and the roots of its current economic dynamism.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionAsia
288 pages, Paperback
Published December 20, 2022
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218 people want to read
About the author
Bill Hayton
6 books33 followersBill Hayton is a longtime reporter with BBC News, specializing in contemporary Asia. He has also written for The Economist, the South China Morning Post, and the National Interest.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 22, 2024
A good overview of Vietnamese history that is helpfully nuanced about China-Vietnam tensions.
But it’s held back by three things. One is that for a book with “brief” in the title, it is long-winded, and not all of the detail is particularly illuminating. Chapter 2 could have been easily cut.
The second is that Hayton is an uninteresting stylist. You will read too many sentences like: “Economic development is bringing new opportunities for the majority of Vietnamese but also serious problems” (pg 269). Nearly every section begins with obligatory scene-setting paragraphs about nature or a building. It gets tiring.
Lastly, the final chapter on modern Vietnam is fluffy, despite the book being published in 2022. There’s little discussion of Vietnam’s manufacturing industry — a big oversight.
But it’s held back by three things. One is that for a book with “brief” in the title, it is long-winded, and not all of the detail is particularly illuminating. Chapter 2 could have been easily cut.
The second is that Hayton is an uninteresting stylist. You will read too many sentences like: “Economic development is bringing new opportunities for the majority of Vietnamese but also serious problems” (pg 269). Nearly every section begins with obligatory scene-setting paragraphs about nature or a building. It gets tiring.
Lastly, the final chapter on modern Vietnam is fluffy, despite the book being published in 2022. There’s little discussion of Vietnam’s manufacturing industry — a big oversight.
August 20, 2024
Would hardly call this Brief…
March 11, 2026
A brief history indeed! Starts off a bit slow and informative but not enticing. It is understandable and forgivable, as it is a brief history. However, an easing into the names and language interchange would have been valuable for the intended western english audience. Chapter 3 begins a more formative and less confusing introduction for beginners and develops a narrative a bit better. This is not a book I would necessarily recommend to many beginners of Southeast Asian history, but it is certainly a book I will use as a reference point when diving deeper into certain eras of its history and significance.
In the struggle for power in the 1470s, the author makes note “[t]hat growing sense of cultural superiority combined with a desire to become the pre-eminent power in the region, turned into expansionism.” Essentially outlining a historical trait found in most every empire on earth and succinctly stated. The notion that when we tend to believe our culture is morally superior to others, we (as humans) have therefore historically found the justification for expansion and domination. This takes many forms, shapes and sizes, modern and ancient surfeit examples.
The appointed myth-makers of Nguyen Trai and Ngo Si Lien, advisors to the Le Dynasty in the 1420s and 1470s, respectively, created histories to serve the needs of their kings. These historical myths “…created a sense of cultural superiority among Viet rulers that gave them an ideological justification to extend their rule.…[t]hey underpinned what was, in effect, a Confucian colonial ideology.” Colonialism knows no cultural bounds.
Something I enjoyed: the idea of a tv show or historical series on the life of late 18th century Nguyen Phuc Anh would be adventureful. His rise fall to refugee and rise to Gia Long emperor would be exciting to see, from how he fled to King Rama in Thai, doing that kings bidding whilst all the while growing his supporters to eventually retake Saigon from the Tay Son. His usage of Portuguese missionaries, Chinese pirates, English merchants, Siamese officers and French priests makes for an intricate and fascinating historical tale. Characters like Anh and Bishop Pierre-Joseph-Georges Pigneau make for entertaining television, let alone the fact it happened in history. The fact that their actions in 18th century brought the French into Vietnam in a new and powerful way has clearly helped shape the conflicts that would come in the 20th century.
Distinction between Phan Boi Chau and Phan Chu Trinh was well written. Phan Boi Chau wanted to expel the French and recreate a kingdom based upon traditional Confucian morality. Phan Chu Trinh wanted to embarrass the French into actually fulfilling their claims of a mission civilizatrice and reform Vietnamese society. However, I was disappointed with how brief the Vietnam War decade was discussed, albeit not at all surprised by the consistent failures of communist policies.
Overall, for a tourist, this book would likely be helpful in understanding some preliminary background info and names of important historical figures. However, as an avid historian reader, I give this 3.5/5⭐️
In the struggle for power in the 1470s, the author makes note “[t]hat growing sense of cultural superiority combined with a desire to become the pre-eminent power in the region, turned into expansionism.” Essentially outlining a historical trait found in most every empire on earth and succinctly stated. The notion that when we tend to believe our culture is morally superior to others, we (as humans) have therefore historically found the justification for expansion and domination. This takes many forms, shapes and sizes, modern and ancient surfeit examples.
The appointed myth-makers of Nguyen Trai and Ngo Si Lien, advisors to the Le Dynasty in the 1420s and 1470s, respectively, created histories to serve the needs of their kings. These historical myths “…created a sense of cultural superiority among Viet rulers that gave them an ideological justification to extend their rule.…[t]hey underpinned what was, in effect, a Confucian colonial ideology.” Colonialism knows no cultural bounds.
Something I enjoyed: the idea of a tv show or historical series on the life of late 18th century Nguyen Phuc Anh would be adventureful. His rise fall to refugee and rise to Gia Long emperor would be exciting to see, from how he fled to King Rama in Thai, doing that kings bidding whilst all the while growing his supporters to eventually retake Saigon from the Tay Son. His usage of Portuguese missionaries, Chinese pirates, English merchants, Siamese officers and French priests makes for an intricate and fascinating historical tale. Characters like Anh and Bishop Pierre-Joseph-Georges Pigneau make for entertaining television, let alone the fact it happened in history. The fact that their actions in 18th century brought the French into Vietnam in a new and powerful way has clearly helped shape the conflicts that would come in the 20th century.
Distinction between Phan Boi Chau and Phan Chu Trinh was well written. Phan Boi Chau wanted to expel the French and recreate a kingdom based upon traditional Confucian morality. Phan Chu Trinh wanted to embarrass the French into actually fulfilling their claims of a mission civilizatrice and reform Vietnamese society. However, I was disappointed with how brief the Vietnam War decade was discussed, albeit not at all surprised by the consistent failures of communist policies.
Overall, for a tourist, this book would likely be helpful in understanding some preliminary background info and names of important historical figures. However, as an avid historian reader, I give this 3.5/5⭐️
April 5, 2025
Bill Hayton's A Brief History of Vietnam is a very good example of how to cover the history of a country in the appropriate amount of detail. It's also an excellent distribution of detailing between the olden days and the more recent history - Hayton does a great job of not giving the recent events outsized emphasis even though there is an obvious huge variance in terms of quality information available between these vs the more distant past.
In terms of content, the narrative comes across as sufficiently detailed to give you a very good idea of the country's history but does not overwhelm with information.
The writing style also is very readable and remains helpfully chronological in most cases (sine annoying exceptions need subsequently) . The most confusing bit for us uninitiated outsiders is obviously the names - so many, all so similar and all just so so difficult to pronounce (virtually nothing is pronounced as written - Vietnamese might hate the comparison, but, so French!). The only blemish (and I appreciate the tough balancing act needed here) is that he virtually covers North Vietnam first and then gets to South for a bit before returning to North and then finishing with the combined history. This can get slightly confusing as a diligent reader might have to flip forwards and back to figure out what was going on with Champs while trying to substance the context of their counterparts in the north as three coexisting people are actually dealt with in different sections of the book.
That said, this is a very good intro to Vietnam if you want to get what the title promises "a brief history". A very solid 4 star from me.
In terms of content, the narrative comes across as sufficiently detailed to give you a very good idea of the country's history but does not overwhelm with information.
The writing style also is very readable and remains helpfully chronological in most cases (sine annoying exceptions need subsequently) . The most confusing bit for us uninitiated outsiders is obviously the names - so many, all so similar and all just so so difficult to pronounce (virtually nothing is pronounced as written - Vietnamese might hate the comparison, but, so French!). The only blemish (and I appreciate the tough balancing act needed here) is that he virtually covers North Vietnam first and then gets to South for a bit before returning to North and then finishing with the combined history. This can get slightly confusing as a diligent reader might have to flip forwards and back to figure out what was going on with Champs while trying to substance the context of their counterparts in the north as three coexisting people are actually dealt with in different sections of the book.
That said, this is a very good intro to Vietnam if you want to get what the title promises "a brief history". A very solid 4 star from me.
May 3, 2024
Avevo bisogno di documentarmi sulla storia del Vietnam e non ho trovato testi in italiano, quindi ho provato questo libro in inglese attratto dal "brief" in copertina. Sono 270 pagine, sono densissime e senza figure o mappe, e alla fine ci ho messo quasi un mese a leggerlo, alla faccia del "brief".
Il libro fa bene il suo dovere nel restituire la complessità della storia vietnamita, una terra storicamente subalterna della Cina, ma con grandi influenze anche dal mondo indiano. Una terra crocevia di popoli, con un sacco di cambiamenti durante gli anni, e una quantità di guerre e violenza impressionante. Forse anche a leggere la storia europea in breve si ha la stessa sensazione, ma quella vietnamita è un susseguirsi di rivoluzioni, colpi di stato, brigantaggio, dinastie massacrate, invasioni subite ed effettuate, e tutto questo ancora prima della guerra più famosa (che poi ha coinvolto gli USA in solo una sua parte).E' anche facile perdersi nell'elenco di nomi in una lingua non familiare, e forse il difetto principale del libro è quello di mancare di sintesi, nel perdersi nei dettagli senza riuscire a trasmettere con chiarezza situazioni, cause e conseguenze. Insomma, per chi, come me, voleva solo qualcosa che andasse oltre la pagina di wikipedia, è troppo. Anche perché non so quanto ricorderò di tutti i dettagli che mi son sciroppato.
Il libro fa bene il suo dovere nel restituire la complessità della storia vietnamita, una terra storicamente subalterna della Cina, ma con grandi influenze anche dal mondo indiano. Una terra crocevia di popoli, con un sacco di cambiamenti durante gli anni, e una quantità di guerre e violenza impressionante. Forse anche a leggere la storia europea in breve si ha la stessa sensazione, ma quella vietnamita è un susseguirsi di rivoluzioni, colpi di stato, brigantaggio, dinastie massacrate, invasioni subite ed effettuate, e tutto questo ancora prima della guerra più famosa (che poi ha coinvolto gli USA in solo una sua parte).E' anche facile perdersi nell'elenco di nomi in una lingua non familiare, e forse il difetto principale del libro è quello di mancare di sintesi, nel perdersi nei dettagli senza riuscire a trasmettere con chiarezza situazioni, cause e conseguenze. Insomma, per chi, come me, voleva solo qualcosa che andasse oltre la pagina di wikipedia, è troppo. Anche perché non so quanto ricorderò di tutti i dettagli che mi son sciroppato.
January 5, 2026
Found myself furiously scribbling down notes as I realized I had NO connection to the ancestral motherland. Hayton's work throughout this monograph was incredible as it was inspiring - I'll continue to think more about the legacies of Vietnamese decolonial thinkers and why exactly the Vietnamese American diaspora has bittersweet ties to the latter half of the 20th century!
Another note: a lot of reviewers criticize this work by complaining about the "brief" part of the title being a misnomer? I never had expectations that the >2000-year history of Vietnam could be neatly condensed into 200 pages, so I thought that those criticisms were unfair. Nevertheless, I'm grateful to have read a really comprehensive account of my culture, especially given Hayton's effort to deliver an even account of the many, many conflicting goals in Vietnamese history.
Another note: a lot of reviewers criticize this work by complaining about the "brief" part of the title being a misnomer? I never had expectations that the >2000-year history of Vietnam could be neatly condensed into 200 pages, so I thought that those criticisms were unfair. Nevertheless, I'm grateful to have read a really comprehensive account of my culture, especially given Hayton's effort to deliver an even account of the many, many conflicting goals in Vietnamese history.
December 26, 2023
This is a nice short summary of Vietnam history. A huge part is focused on its relationship with China. It has been perceived as a long term antagonist to the nation but the fact is that the nation has been absorbing legitimacy from China in its first incidence of kingdom building and then has been adopting Chinese ideas in nation building, party building, and then conversion to capitalism. Given the uneasy relationship, there will continue to be a lot of collaboration and conflict between Vietnam and China. It’s an interesting angle to look at.
February 12, 2024
I was born in Vietnam and went to school there up until I was 13. I received formal schooling over Vietnamese history and such. I thought this book would help me revisit my lessons and add on to my existing knowledge. My expectations were fulfilled, I had a good time jotting my memories and learning more extensively about the history of my country. Although at time the multiple spelling mistakes were quite distracting. I also don’t know how to feel about the pronunciation guides for Vietnamese names. But overall, it served its purpose.
July 6, 2023
Bill Hayton has managed to fabricate the thread of a nation's journey, the developments and pitfalls within its borders that have been influenced by those living within and those outside with determined interests. While its title states its brief history, there is wealth in the depths that Hayton recounts, and it does so without abandoning the interlinks between the past and the present — a great starting point for diving into the history of Vietnam.
August 21, 2024
A fairly robust overview of Vietnamese history, covering thousands of years in only 270 pages. It's not always the most exciting read, but for a straight history book it felt engaging and I appreciated finding a history book that focused on more than the wars of the 1900s.
It would be nice to see more contemporary issues discussed - the book is fairly recent and has room for it - but this is a great primer to the long, intense history of an often overlooked country.
It would be nice to see more contemporary issues discussed - the book is fairly recent and has room for it - but this is a great primer to the long, intense history of an often overlooked country.
January 13, 2025
it was good especially until the 20th century, maybe because vietnam in 20th century is too well-known to be written briefly. thanks to chapter 2 i made a spontaneous plan to quy nhon for a 3-day champa-tower-hopping trip, it was so much fun and so less-traveled, so niche, that i even felt they deserve more attention, maybe with the help of this book they will.
March 17, 2026
Finished just in time for Hoi An holiday. It’s kinda mindboggling that for much of its history, Vietnam was either struggling with a North vs South civil war, or fending off invasions. And the most recent conflict ended just not that long ago. Now it’s one of the region’s most vibrant economies & societies.
May 13, 2023
I really enjoyed this book, I am so into Vietnamese history at the moment and this was a great short overview. Very interesting.
Read
November 6, 2024It’s bloody long
December 31, 2024
Excellent, easy to read history
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews