Reading

As a part of my project I have read and reviewed twenty books, both fiction and non-fiction, that are relevant to my studies of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The aim of these reviews has been to share the insights I have gained from reading the books, to explain how they have developed my understanding of the culture and history of Indochina and to serve as guides for further reading to my audience based on my critiques. The twenty book reviews are posted below in the descending chronological order in which I completed them.

05/09/2013: A Short History of Laos: The Land in Between- Grant Evans (2003)

14/08/2013: A Dragon Apparent- Travels in Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam- Norman Lewis (1951). Travel writing/ Indochina/ French colonial period

30/07/2013: The Road of Lost Innocence- Somaly Mam (2007). Autobiography/ Cambodia/ Sex slavery and trafficking/ Post-Khmer Rouge

24/07/2013: Nightmare in Laos: The true story of a woman imprisoned in a communist gulag- Kay Danes (2005). Memoir/ Laos/ 21st Century / Government, politics, justice

11/07/2013: The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79 (Third Edition)- Ben Kiernan (2008)

17/06/2013: After They Killed Our Father: A Refugee from the Killing Fields Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind- Loung Ung (2007). Cambodia/ refugee experience/ memoir

11/06/2013: Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992- Jane Hamilton-Merritt (1993). Non-fiction/ history/ military/ US policy/ Laos secret war/ Hmong ethnic minority

14/05/2013: When Heaven and Earth Changed Places- Le Ly Hayslip (1989). Memoir/ Vietnam War

08/05/2013: River of Time- Jon Swain (1996). Journalism/ Memoir/ Vietnam and Cambodia/ War-time period

29/04/2013: Paradise of the Blind- Duong Thu Huong (1993). Fiction/ Vietnam/ Wartime and post-war

20/04/2013: Romancing Vietnam- Justin Wintle (1991). Non-fiction/ Journalism/ Vietnam

26/03/2013: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors and The Collision of Two Cultures- Anne Fadiman (1997). Non-fiction/ Hmong history and culture/ Cultural cohesion in medicine

14/03/2013: The Boat- Nam Le (2008). Fiction/ Short stories/ Vietnamese author

06/03/2013: The Vietnam War: A Concise International History- Mark Atwood Lawrence (2010). Non-fiction/ history/ Vietnam War

28/02/2013: The Sorrow of War- Bao Ninh, Frank Palmos and Phan Thanh Hao (1994). Autobiographical fiction/ Vietnam/ Wartime and post-war period/ War novel

06/02/2013: Vietnam: Rising Dragon- Bill Hayton (2010). Non-fiction/ Vietnam/ Post-war/ Development/ Politics/ Economy

12/01/2013: To The End Of Hell- Denise Affonco (2007). Memoir/ Cambodia/ Khmer Rouge genocide

29/11/2012: Last Night I Dreamed Of Peace- Dang Thuy Tram and Andrew X. Pham (2007). Diary/ Vietnam/ Wartime period

17/11/2012: Ru- Kim Thuy and Sheila Fischman (2012). Autobiographical fiction/Vietnam/Wartime period/Boat People/Vietnamese refugee experience









12/11/2012: The Quiet American- Graham Greene (1955). Fiction/Vietnam/Wartime period