Customer Reviews

China's War With Vietnam, 1979: Issues, Decisions, and Implications (Hoover Institution Press Publication)

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I eagerly bought this book because it's probably the only one dealing with the Sino-vietnamese war of 1979 as its main theme. Although it contains a very thorough overview of the political and diplomatic relations of the two countries from 1947 to 1979, analysing many issues ranging from the Chinese community in Vietnam to the US-Chinese and Soviet-Vietnamese relations, the actual military operations of the war are covered in only 16 pages of a single chapter (number 5). The writing is also completely dry, reminding official diplomatic report. For someone who's looking for a better military account I would recommend "PLA Warfighting" which is much more detailed on the subject, and also "Brother Enemy" by Nayan Chanda which has an easily read narrative, albeit it focuses on the Vietnam invasion of Cambodia (December 1978 - January 1979).