Customer Reviews

A Story of Vietnam

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
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"A Story of Vietnam" was given to me by my big brother as a gift. It's one of the most valuable gifts that anyone could have given to an individual of Vietnamese heritage who was born and/or grew up in a new land or another country, other than Vietnam, like myself. I received and read this book with keen appreciation and much respect for my big brother and Dr. Truong Buu Lam, the author of "A Story of Vietnam."

As a proud Vietnamese American, I am also learning to cherish my Vietnamese heritage and "A Story of Vietnam" has opened the door to the discovery of my heritage. The author's writing style is one of fluidity and conciseness. Dr. Lam wrote this book with the "story-telling" style and I love it! It's so interesting with unabated events in every chapter, nothing like our boring, traditional text books. It's actually NOT a textbook. It's a good story book, period! I am still amazed at how much I've learned from just one book. With some rare photos and great poems in it, make this book even more fun to read. If you like poetry, here's your chance to indulge yourself in some very unique poems that you probably wouldn't be able to find anywhere else, not in English versions for sure. Thus, I am proud to recommend this book to just anyone. Hint: you don't have to like histories to enjoy reading this book.

What lesson did I take away from "A Story of Vietnam"? For me, it's not really a lesson, it's more of a very precious discovery. The author has helped me realize that my heritage is a heritage of honor, pride, and courage. As a reminder for me to be proud and to never forget that, no matter where I might be living and what I might have accomplished in life. I will not tell you more, you'll just have to read it to validate my claim here. I hope you'll enjoy reading "A Story of Vietnam" as much as I did, and still do.

I visited Vietnam a few years ago and became interested in it's culture and history - this book educated me and satisfied my curiosity. I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in Vietnam.

Even though I am over 60 and had lived 30+ years in Viet Nam, I found myself learning as I read A Story of Viet Nam. The author, Professor Truong Buu Lam, meticulously and comprehensively narrated the history, culture and people of Viet Nam. The book is worth reading, especially for those with a curiosity to explore Viet Nam.

It's been a long time since I've studied Vietnamese history and this book is not only good for reviews and refreshers, but also provides obscure details that I wasn't aware of before. Some typos here and there; needs a little editing but otherwise great book to have for expatriated Vietnamese and young ones growing up speaking English.

Being a Vietnamese-American growing up in the US, I wanted to know Vietnamese history that spans over the history of the nation rather than just focusing on the history around the Vietnam war. I was happy that this book accomplished that goal. I like the peppering of legends and folk tales in between historical accounts. Having heard some of the stories and bits of history from my parents, this book puts things in perspective. I like the fact that the author acknowledge that it's a "story of Vietnam" rather than the history of Vietnam. He made it clear where the source of the various of the accounts come from so we can judge its accuracy ourselves. Dr. Truong was balanced in providing viewpoints from the local Vietnamese, the Chinese, and the French. After reading the book, I bought several copies as gifts to my siblings and friends. They, too, enjoyed the read. Although some finds the interjection of folk tales and legends in between historical accounts to be distracting and confusing. Overall, I highly recommend this book to people who wants to know a more in depth story of Vietnam from a non-western perspective.