From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up-Gavin details the 1975 fall of South Vietnam and explains its lasting repercussions for the country and region. While he provides some background about the Vietnamese struggle for independence from the Chinese and French and the lengthy conflict with the U.S., the book focuses on how the North Vietnamese gained a military victory over the south and the subsequent repression, reeducation, and economic concerns that accompanied reunification. The author also covers the mass exodus of the boat people, the Vietnamese incursion into Cambodia, and current conditions in Vietnam. The text is supplemented with numerous sidebar excerpts from primary sources about the war and its aftermath. The author is objective about past and present conditions in the country, writing clearly about the nation's potential and problems. Average-quality, black-and-white photos add little to the presentation. This book provides a more readable overview of postwar Vietnam than L. Shelton Woods's Vietnam: A Global Studies Handbook (ABC-CLIO, 2002) and updates the material in Albert Marrin's America and Vietnam: The Elephant and the Tiger (Viking, 1992; o.p.), making it a good choice for reports.
Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MOCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Fledgling historians should find this title a good, well-documented read."
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School Library Journal (September 2001) (
School Library Journal 20020901)
"Kids looking for background into contemporary Middle East conflicts will do welll to start here."
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Booklist (May 2003) (
Booklist 20020801)
"There is a good deal of information packed into the brief text and both report writers and the general readers will be well served."
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School Library Journal (September 2002) (
School Library Journal 20020501)
"Well designed for research and reports, this account includes primary and secondary source quotations, all fully footnoted. Most of these quotes are in separate boxes with source information included so readers do not need to flip back and forth. This informative, approachable text will be useful in most collections."
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School Library Journal (August 2002) (
School Library Journal 20020401)
"Captioned black-and-white photographs and reproductions complement the text. This is an excellent title."
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School Library Journal (May 2002) (
School Library Journal 20020101)
"The writing is clear and easy for beginners on the subject. Useful for reports."
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School Library Journal (April 2002) (
School Library Journal 20020101)
"Vivid descriptions, quotes from the participants, and newspaper accounts written by war correspondents bring readers to the battlefront in this well-documented title."
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School Library Journal (January 2002) (
School Library Journal 20010301)
"These titles offer a great deal of useful and readable information. The information is presented clearly and is suitable for reports and for leisure reading."
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School Library Journal (January 2002) (
School Library Journal 20010301)
"The strengths of the book include its parenthetical definitions, maps, footnotes, substantial extracts from primary sources, the annotated bibliography, and a time line."
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School Library Journal (March 2001) (
School Library Journal 20010201)
"This series addition lives up to the high standards achieved by its predecessors. The book is enriched by numerous, well-chosen quotations from primary and secondary sources, and by a wealth of interesting black-and-white photos and reproductions. A fine source for beginning research."
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School Library Journal (March 2001) (
School Library Journal 20010101)
"An excellent introduction..The two-column text is liberally illustrated with vintage photos. Numerous sidebars contain extensive information from primary and secondary sources. This title is a solid purchase."
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School Library Journal (Febraury 2001) (
School Library Journal 20041001)
"Each book ends with an analysis of the era and its legacy. The use of primary sources...will help students understand how the authors gathered information and used it to construct the texts. Black-and-white photographs, maps, and period reproductions illustrate the volumes. Thought-provoking books that will intorduce readers to...history and historical research."
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School Library Journal (January 2001) (
School Library Journal )
"This volume provides historical background on the Vietnam conflict and focuses on the social and economic concerns that accompanied reunification. It?s a highly readable overview of the war?s aftermath, the exodus of the Vietnamese people, and present conditions in the country. Sidebar quotes from letters and other primary sources put a human face on the war."
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School Library Journal (October 2004) (
School Library Journal )