Hanoi: City Of The Rising Dragon [Hardcover]

Georges Boudarel (Author), Van Nguyen Ky (Author), Claire Duiker (Translator), William J. Duiker (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2002 | ISBN-10: 0742516547 | ISBN-13: 978-0742516540

For many Westerners, Hanoi evokes memories only of war and bitter loss. But Hanoi is much more than the capital of Vietnamese communism. Ancient seat of the royal house, then center of the French colonial empire in Indochina, and finally birthplace of Vietnamese independence, Hanoi is today a thriving urban center with a rich history all its own. Georges Boudarel and Nguyen Van Ky paint a vivid portrait of a city that is now awakening to the modern era. Together they reveal Hanoi in its myriad facets, from the aromas of its traditional cuisine to its destruction in wartime to the modern era of motorcycles and movie theaters. Part history, part paean, this book takes us into the heart of a city just emerging from the storms of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An intriguing volume that offers the reader considerable food for thought. (Journal Of Asian Studies )

About the Author

Georges Boudarel, a French historian, lived in Indochina before the departure of the French, gaining firsthand experience of the Vietnamese resistance and their eventual liberation. Nguyen Van Ky is a Vietnamese scholar who specializes in contemporary life in Vietnam.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742516547
• ISBN-13: 978-0742516540
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,575,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit dishonest, December 13, 2005

By 

S. M Darragh "lirelou" (Seoul, Korea) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hanoi: City Of The Rising Dragon (Paperback)

Georges Boudarel did more than "reside in Indochina before and after the departure of the French". He was a communist who was intimately involved in the interrogation and brainwashing of French POWs, if their accounts are to be believed, and many specifically name him. One cannot fault his history, his knowledge of Hanoi, nor his intimacy with Vietnam and the Vietnamese Communist Party. One can wonder why his country has never held him to account, and hauled him before a richly deserved firing squad.