Dragon Ascending: Vietnam and the Vietnamese [Paperback]

Henry Kamm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 1997

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-old history. 25,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kamm, a Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent for the New York Times who has been reporting from Southeast Asia for more than a quarter century, here explores Vietnam, its resilient people, its history and its likely future. The men and women he introduces us to include General Tran Cong Man, unofficial spokesman for the Communist Party; Duong Thu Huong, a dissident whose defiance of unjust authority landed her in solitary confinement; Duong Quynh Hoa, one of the founders of the National Liberation Front, whose comments reflect the disillusionment many Southerners feel toward Hanoi's postwar policies; and Pham Xuan An, who worked as a Time correspondent during the war while secretly serving as a Viet Cong colonel. In his interviews, including those with survivors of the My Lai massacre, Kamm notes the astonishing absence of postwar hostility toward the Americans. On the other hand, there is little forgiveness toward veterans of the defeated "puppet army"; Kamm reports that Saigon's National Cemetery, with its thousands of ARVN dead, has been razed. He concludes that Vietnam, standing on its own after the collapse of the Soviet Union, is a stable country and that its heightened confidence seems justified. Photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA?The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist has produced a clearly written, accurate, personal account of Vietnam, yesterday and today. He presents a historical look at the country in order to examine and understand what is happening now. Kamm not only has first-hand knowledge of the political, social, and economic situation, but through a variety of contacts, he has a mosaic awareness of the current state of affairs. A brief but sufficient chronology introduces the book, providing an overview of this country's history and the role of China, Japan, France, and the U.S. in it. Four simple maps of Vietnam and Southeast Asia provide background information. Photographs include well-known Vietnamese figures prominent in literature, politics, journalism, and art. The text is smooth and straightforward. For libraries that want an unbiased, well-rounded collection of international materials, this book is a valuable addition.?Dottie Kraft, formerly at Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing (February 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559703555
• ISBN-13: 978-1559703550
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,745,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good., January 25, 2002

By 

alainviet "alainviet" (Indianapolis, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragon Ascending: Vietnam and the Vietnamese (Paperback)

This New York Times reporter has won a Pulitzer Prize award for his reports on the boat people in the late seventies. The present book is a good review of postwar Vietnam from the reeducation camps, the differences between Saigon and Hanoi, the arrogance of the communists to the hope for a better future under the "doi moi" policy.

His interviews with Can Giao, a nationalist who has been imprisoned 21 times by all the different regimes, Duong Thu Huong (Paradise of the Blind), and Bao Ninh (The sorrow of war) are enlightening. All these people who are either former communists or sympathizers are presently not very happy with the communist regime. The author also believes that the 1975 diaspora represents the "severest judgment the Vietnamese had expressed about the communist regime".

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Book about Vietnam!, July 18, 2006

By 

Lynn Ellingwood "The ESOL Teacher" (Webster, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon Ascending: Vietnam and the Vietnamese (Paperback)

I thought this book was very helpful in understanding the history of Vietnam and the present up to 1998. It contained information that I had not read in much detail before. I was particularly interested in the legends about the beginning of the Vietnamese people and it's history prior to the Vietnam War. Even the account of the Vietnam War was different from other histories I have read and this book recounted the post Vietnam War era in an interesting way. If you are interested in Vietnam, this is a book to read.