The Twenty-five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon [Hardcover]

Lam Quang Thi (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This valuable memoir of the Indochina War, 1950-75, by a former South Vietnamese general takes its title from the fact that, for him and his generation, the most important events of the twentieth century were packed into that period. An upper-class Vietnamese, Thi was one of the first Vietnamese to receive a French commission. During the late '50s, he received training in the U.S., on which his insights are particularly interesting. He rose rapidly through staff and command positions during 1963-75. Polite but explicit about the deficiencies he encountered among his fellow Vietnamese and among their Western supporters, he never goes overboard into the "How we might have won" syndrome. He is also too polite to be explicit about how the South Vietnamese army's former friends and former foes alike completely ignored it in the postwar period, and that makes his memoir valuably unusual. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: University of North Texas Press; First Edition edition (February 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574411438
• ISBN-13: 978-1574411430
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #898,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a life of Occupation and War..., April 11, 2002

By 

Asian American History Buff (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Twenty-five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon (Hardcover)

General Thi shares with us the major events of his life, from losing his father at an early age to the Viet Minh, to how his Uncles and Aunts were so instrumental in providing the Extended Family (Confucian) Values that enabled Lam and his brother to pull themselves up by their hard work and many accomplishments in school and later in their adult life.

We see through Lam's eyes the French Occupation of Vietnam, the reasons for the Viet Minh, the Fall of the French, the coming of the Americans, Lam's Army Career and how he so skillfully plays the hand Life has given him, making the best of what he has, leading all the way to making ARVN Lt. General (Three Star General) at such an early age through his sheer abilities and hard work.

The book also allows the Reader to see and experience Vietnamese Culture, from Tet (Chinese New Year), the tasty foods (I still can smell the Cha Gio) cooked in celebration of their various Holidays and Occations, to Confucian Extended Family Values of Respect for Elders and a High Premium on Education as the way to get ahead in Life, and how even later on in their lives when he outranks his Older Brother (who was "only" a Two Star General) that Older Brother still made the Final Decision and was obeyed when it came to Family Matters.

For those of you who did not know, Vietnamese Wives and Mothers, while seemingly docile and obedient, were actually Very Powerful when it came to Family Matters of Finance and Children. Vietnamese Family Values were demonstrated as we watch Lam and his Family when they get to visit with Emperor Bao Dai's Mother, and her demonstrated tenderness towards Children.

An excellent example of what one Vietnamese Life was like from 1950 to 1975, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent insight on the Indochina and Vietnam Wars, January 30, 2003

By 

BasinBictory "Mister Basin to You" (Nowhere in particular) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Twenty-five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon (Hardcover)

I bought this book because I was intrigued by the prospect of reading a memoir from the point of view of a South Vietnamese soldier. Although Gen. Lam Quang Thi was a very high-ranking member of the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) and attained high rank at a young age, I got the impression that he was one of the truly gifted officers in that army, who was idealistic about serving his country to the best of his abilities.

Throughout the book, Thi regularly takes issue with the corruption and incompetence of many of his fellow officers, and recounts the political situation in the South, where coup after coup after coup left the country of South Vietnam basically a rudderless ship. He tells of how many of his fellow officers attained high ranks, up to and including senior generals, not because of superior soldiering prowess, but because of having the right political connections. Even he (the author) benefitted a little from the political machinations of some of his superiors. In this regard, the book is an excellent source on the socio-political scene in Saigon in the 1960's.

However, as a war memoir, I found the book a little light in descriptions of battle and how he and the men under his command coped with the strain of combat. This is why I give the book only four stars. I suppose that as a general, his viewpoints of battle tend to be more detached and "big picture" oriented, which is reflected in his writing. Most descriptions of battles his units fought were mostly like, "We swept the area with the 1st regiment, while the 2nd was held in reserve. After heavy contact, we suffered 25 dead while the VC suffered 100 dead." None of the harrowing descriptions which can be found in many other terrific war memoirs are present here. Since so many of those other types of books have been written by American soldiers, with American perspectives, I was excited to finally be able to read one written from an Asian soldier's perspective. However, I was somewhat disappointed in this regard. All in all, however, I feel that this is a book that most Vietnam War buffs should read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I was there, June 6, 2010

By 

Gary Mason (Pueblo West, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Twenty-five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon (Hardcover)

I served on the MACV Advisory Team (60) attached to the ARVN 9th I. D. as a radio operator from Dec. 1965 - Jan. 1968, and after reading through General Thi's book I was impressed with the situations as described from his perspective. I also recall that many U. S. officers expressed favorable impressions of the General, his leadership and patriotism. A good read for those of us who were in Sadec. Gary Mason