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October 07, 2004

Books and Movies

Whenever I'm planning to travel somewhere new part of my preparation is to immerse myself in the history of that place. Even though I grew up during the Vietnam war I'm aware of how many gaps exist in my understanding of that conflict and how little I understand of VN's pre- and post-war history.
Oren is taking a class on the Vietnam War at the UW this quarter. I have picked up a number of books and am busy reading them. I thought I'd list a few here and see if anyone has any suggestions for further reading:

"Shadows and Wind" by Robert Templer- A critical look at Vietnam's post war government.

"Fire in the Lake" by Frances Fitzgerald- The Pulitzer Prize winning history of the VN War. I read it many years ago but it seemed like a good time to pick it up again.

"After Tet" by Ronald Spector- Spector is a military historian and a good one. Ordinarily I avoid "war histories" but I read Spector's history of the war in the Pacific during WWII several years ago and think he's one of the best.

"Vietnam, Now" by David Lamb- A look at modern VN culture by a reporter who covered the war for the LA Times.

"Understanding Vietnam" by Neil L. Jamieson.- Haven't cracked this one yet. It looks good but very text-bookish. I'll write about it later.

Movies-
I have a copy of the incredible PBS production "Vietnam: A Television History". Oren and I are making our way through the eleven hour documentary very slowly. It is pretty intense viewing.
And speaking of intense I recently watched "Hearts and Minds"; Peter Davis'1974 Oscar-winning documentary on the VN war. Thirty years ago my friend Jim Goldberg and I hitch-hiked to Seattle from Bellingham to see this film in a downtown theater. It was the day that Saigon fell.

If you have any suggestions for books, films, etc; please let us know.

Posted by ed at October 7, 2004 10:46 PM

Comments

i think to understand the culture and history of a people well you should explore things written by people of that culture also. those books listed above are from the westerner's perspective. sadly though vietnamese publications remain within the vietnamese community and those publications/movies that are widely publicized are made more for western audiences. for ex. the scent of green papaya which is not very accurate in terms of aritecture/lifestyle etc. it was more like an art movie; many vietnamese people complained that the director isn't really vietnamese...ie french-washed. also there are two different readings, readings from those who live in vietnam and support the communist government and readings from the refugees-most of whom fought for the south vietnamese government. basically if you were an american, would you buy an 'american cookbook' from someone who was born in america but moved to africa at 6 and lived there since then. it would be more of an african-american experience. if i wanted authentic i would get a betty crocker cookbook. anyways don't try to analyze the experiences and cultures of the vietnamese people esp. concerning the war, because there are just so many perspectives within the vietnamese population itself. because if you ask what the vietnamese thought, there is more than one group to ask. sad to say that most people don't even know there was a north and south vietnam, and that to some (actually more like all vietnamse people outside of vietnam) the americans were not the aggressors, although they weren't solely there out of selflessness. just enjoy the country and have fun. sorry for the long essay.

Posted by: a at November 17, 2004 09:13 PM