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Templer does an in-depth survey of Vietnamese life in the 1990s, finding very little of which he could approve. At this point in the country's history, Vietnam's Communist Party officials had dug in their heels to keep control :"because we won the war." And already over half the country's people had been born after the war. Maybe two-thirds of the book explores the corruptions, incompetencies and control-freakhood of aging government officials. Around a third remains for Templer's competent revi...
I found this book at a university book sale for 50 cents. Given a general interest in East Asia (although more so Japan), Penguin being one of my favorite publishers, and my dad being a Vietnam veteran, I figured it was worth a read.While outdated by 20 years, Shadows and Wind provides an objective portrait of Vietnam through the 1980s/90s, at least as seen through the eyes of a western academic. Probably the more fascinating aspect of the book for me was seeing the flailing back-and-forths of t...
Probably out of date now as I read this while traveling Vietnam and it stuck me how much has changed. However, worthwhile reading if you are after a deeper understanding of what has influenced the development of post war Vietnam up to publication of this book.
I bought my copy of this book from a bookseller outside of our hotel in Vietnam in 2001. The bookseller had a little shelf hung from a strap from his neck, and after several days of meeting him there every time we left the hotel (I ended up buying every book he had for sale), my mother and I sat down and had a conversation with him. It turned out that his French was better than his English, so we switched to that language when it helped. The tri-lingual bookseller from a tiny village, doing his
While in Vietnam I picked up an interesting book about contemporary Vietnam called Shadows and Wind by Robert Templer. Anyway, after my first trip to Vietnam I read Stanley Karnow’s excellent history, Vietnam, which focuses on the causes of the war and the aftermath and I felt this might be a follow up of sorts, picking up where Karnow left off. It’s not as contemporary as I’d like-it was published in 1998, but the author has interesting insights to make about the myth of Vietnam, the culture, t...
Informative book, seems exhaustively researched by the author, and kind of exhausting to read. Definitely helps inform one's thoughts of the region. This book is clearly a labor of love by Mr. Templer.
This book is about modern vietnam. There is lots of good information and if you are going there is great information. On the other hand it is often very tedious with ideas rather beatened to death. I skimmed much of the book.
Readable, thought provoking insights into a country that is impenetrable even to many of us who have lived there
If only I had picked this up 2 years ago...
An accessible summary of Vietnam's recent history, politics, sociology, and culture.
Can be a little tedious to read, but it delivers as promised a very complete and thorough view of modern Vietnam.
I liked this book. Even though it is a bit out of date, I learned a lot from it.
