Genealogy Books - Understanding Vietnam

Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: A must-read for serious students
Comment: This is a superb scholarly work which is a must-read for anyone interested in Vietnam -- its past,
present and future. Jamieson leads the reader forward from the beginnings of Vietnamese
civilisation, illustrating the evolution of the culture with literature and poetry from each period,
woven into a structure of competing demands for the loyalty of the people.

Of most
impact to many readers will be Jamieson's assessment of the Vietnam War. He conclusively
demonstrates that the jarring and overbearing presence of an alien U.S. administration inevitably
shook to pieces the fragile and vulnerable society of southern Vietnam, which was then in no
position to resist the more traditional and less conflicted society of Hanoi and the north. />
Much has happened, both good and bad, in Vietnam in the decade or so since Jamieson
published this book and yet his insights are as true today as they were of the war period, or even
of the 19th century era of colonialism. Vietnam is changing rapidly on the surface, but the currents
in society remain very much as Jamieson has described.

A remarkable and penetrating
insight into an ancient culture which may become an important global player in the years to come. --
Maclean J Storer, author of Forward O Peasant.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Very good book
Comment: I grew up with a lot of second generation Vietnamese and had a relatively significant amount of
exposure to the culture. After reading this book I can look back and understand a lot of things
better. For example I knew that Viet people are tremendously loyal to thier parents but after
reading this book I have a much better understanding of why.
I thought the way he used Yin
and Yang to explain things throughout the book was very neat. I think my one complaint is that it
does get a little confusing in a couple of places, especially the section covering the 1950's. But I
get the empression that the 1950's were a just a confusing time in Vietnam and the rest of the book
is great. Much of it does read like a novel.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Understanding Vietnamese writers
Comment: I bought this hoping to learn more about the Vietnamese people and their history. I got bogged down
with all the poetry and prose quoted by the writer. While he brushes off the importance of the
battle of Dien Bien Phu in a couple of lines; he drones on quoting (translating) obscure Vietnamese
writers until the reader becomes weary. His premise seems to be that if you understand some writer
(who he thinks is interesting) and attach importance to what he said then you will understand
Vietnam. His annoying treatment of Yin and Yang finally caused me to put the book down and look for
another way to understand Vietnam. If you like words such as "efficacy" and "entropy" you will love
this writer; if such words irritate you, give this book a pass.

Customer Rating:

Summary: WOW
Comment: This book's focus on contemporary Vietnamese literary sources through the years makes it absolutely
unique in the field. Its blend of straight history narrative and multiple-voice literature excerpts
fleshes out Vietnamese society in a way that was sorely needed in the field. To those well-read in
Asian studies: this book can almost be seen as a Vietnam analog to Patricia Ebrey's book "Chinese
Civilization: A Sourcebook," which is a collection of contemporary Chinese sources through history.

The history is instructive and concise, with little excess prose. Jamieson writes in an eminently
readable style, and focuses on the most interesting events in order to keep the reader from being
bored. He does a pretty good job of giving both Northern and Southern Vietnamese viewpoints,
although he does focus a little more than would be preferable on South Vietnam, especially in the
later parts of the book. The twentieth century chapters do a better job than almost any book on the
market in focusing on the Vietnamese, rather than on the multi-decade war in which they fought.

My
only complaint is that the extended yin/yang analogy used to explain societal trends was not very
helpful. On the whole, though, I'm really impressed.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Excellent!!! Very accurate!!! Must Read!!!!!!!!
Comment: I think this book is amazing! Jamieson accuately protrays Vietnam and Vietnamese culture through the
eyes and views of the Vietnamese in a way never before written by a Westerner. He is articulate of
the moods and feelings faceing the Vietnamese, well educated in the arts and literature of Vietnam,
understands the importance to the core family structure, and scholarly in his research of what it
means to be Vietnamese. I highly recommend this book if you want to understand the Vietnamese people
who live in Vietnam, in the US, or anywhere...

Back to Understanding Vietnam

Showing page 1 of 1
1 |