The Penguin History of Modern Vietnam
by Christopher Goscha
by Christopher Goscha
Think you’re smart, do you? Then this is the Vietnam book for you.
Written from a scholarly, academic perspective but remaining accessible, 2017-published The Penguin History of Modern Vietnam is a broad-ranging, detail-oriented history of Vietnam that goes well beyond the usual focus of the American War years so much favoured by Western authors. If you’re looking for an up-to-the-minute, sweeping history of Vietnam that honours its incredible complexity, you’ve found it.
Author Christopher Goscha draws on a vast array of primary sources in the book, providing a reinterpretation of histories past (to draw, say, parallels between French and US aggression there). The level of detail is exquisite, beginning with, naturally, what Vietnam actually means at all and a nuanced critique of how problematic American-centric interpretations of Vietnamese histories, like influential Fire in the Lake by Frances Fitzgerald have been: It was never a given that Ho Chi Minh’s communism was going to prevail. While the alternatives failed, Goscha writes, “their stories spanning more than a century deserve our attention if we are to understand today’s Vietnam”.
Similarly, Goscha places greater emphasis on the importance of Vietnamese structures that were already in place when the French colonised the country and recognises that the French grafted their own ideas of modernity onto these. This, he writes, is in contrast to other historians who insist the French brought modernity alone. In doing so, he places greater importance on other early Vietnamese leaders, such as 1791-born Minh Mang, whose administrative policies helped shape the nation well before the arrival of the French; even the brief Chinese colonisation of Vietnam in the early 15th century was important, Goscha says, as it delivered tools that shaped the country to come such as gunpowder, bureaucracy and a colonial ideology they drew on as their own. The book’s goal, he adds, is to provide a “nuanced account of the plurality of modern Vietnams, from the past to the present”.
Beginning with Dong Son and Coa Lo civilisations (from around the sixth century BCE), Goscha traces the ebbs and flows of power within Vietnam as it grows into a recognisable entity. While academic in tone, this isn’t an overly academic treatise, and even those with just a passing interest in Vietnam will be drawn into the country’s story. If you’ve suffered through the average historical explanations at, say, Thang Long Citadel or the Temple of Literature in Hanoi, and thirsted for more, this is essential (and enjoyable) reading. Still, the lead up to French colonisation is just a chapter... the focus is more modern times.
French colonisation is explored, and we particularly liked the context given in relation to Cambodia and Laos, with tens of thousands of Viets trained and sent to Phnom Penh and Vientiane to work in the administration. By 1937, Goscha notes, 10,200 Viet lived in Vientiane compared to 9,000 Laotians. “Far from stopping Vietnamese expansion westwards, French colonialism often promoted it,” he adds. The full gamut of abhorrent colonialist behaviour is explored, down to the awful fate of some “metis” children (born to French fathers and Vietnamese mothers): “They scoured the Indochinese countryside, removing dozens of metis children, sometimes by force, from their Vietnamese mothers and placing them in orphanages and special military academies, and usually bestowing French citizenship on them.” Think of the innumerable horror stories that lie behind the three words, “sometimes by force”!
The years of global war are covered, leading to the development of nationalism, the rise of Ho Chi Minh and civil war, reunification and the years afterwards. It’s all very readable.
Goscha ends with a brief look at the rise of social media and NGOs in Vietnam and suggests the communists face the same dilemma as the inter-war colonialists once did: “When does state-sponsored reformism risk turning into outright revolution?” He makes no predictions; his point, really, is that the history of Vietnam shows she is immune to being predictable.
We have not yet read Ben Kiernan’s highly regarded 2017-published Vietnam: A History from Earliest Times to the Present, so we can’t compare the two... yet. We do however suspect they are both excellent, each coming from academics who have devoted their professional lives to the study of the Southeast Asian region.
As far as Goscha’s history goes though, it makes a near-essential companion to any traveller with even a passing interest in the history of Vietnam. Given the often poor state of English-language explanations in museums throughout the country (and their often pro-government slant), it makes for a fine substitute.
Note: Goscha’s book was published, as far as we can tell, as Vietnam: A New History in the US in 2016.
Buy online: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble |
Sent every Monday, our newsletter is full of travel advice, news & special deals. Read past issues.
BURMESE DAYS
If you last read Orwell back in high school and vaguely remember struggling through the political implications of assigned texts Animal Farm or 1984, you might be reluctant to pick up Burmese Days. ... more
FINDING GEORGE ORWELL
Emma Larkin’s Finding George Orwell in Burma is a fascinating account of her year in Burma (Myanmar) tracking down the places George Orwell served his time as a British police officer when the country was ruled from Delhi as part of British India. ... more
MISS BURMA
An historical family saga in the classic sense, Charmaine Craig’s Miss Burma puts a twist on things by setting the book in the tumultuous Burma of the 20th century, from the time of British colonialism, through to independence and Ne Win’s seizure of power. It focuses on the shifting fortunes of a non-Burman family swept up in the turmoil, as they take advantage of the good times and face tragedy during the bad. ... more
THE GLASS PALACE
Amitav Ghosh’s The Glass Palace is a classic epic novel, spanning generations and countries as it casts a brilliant light on Burmese, Indian and Malayan history, with Burma its focal point. ... more
THE RIVER OF LOST FOOTSTEPS: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF BURMA
First published in 2006, The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma by Thant Myint-U remains an important read a decade or so on for anyone keen on understanding the nuances and richness of Burmese history. ... more
THE TROUSER PEOPLE
This is our go-to recommended read for those heading to Burma (Myanmar). ... more
DESTINATION CAMBODIA: ADVENTURES IN THE KINGDOM
Walter Mason’s Destination Cambodia: Adventures in the Kingdom is a gentle, intimate look at Cambodia today. ... more
DOGS AT THE PERIMETER
Dogs at the Perimeter, by Canadian author Madeleine Thien, traverses the life of Janie, a medical researcher who settled in Canada as a child after fleeing the horror of the Cambodian genocide. ... more
HOLIDAY IN CAMBODIA
While perhaps popularised by the Dead Kennedys, Holiday in Cambodia is also a great book well worth a read. ... more
HUN SEN’S CAMBODIA
As the title suggests, Sebastian Strangio captures Cambodia’s modern political history through the prism of its long-term leader, Hun Sen. Drawing on a vast array of resources, and writing evocatively, Strangio creates a colourful and multi-layered portrait of Cambodia that will add to the knowledge of even the most avid kingdom-watcher. ... more
HUNTERS IN THE DARK
Cambodian-set Hunters in the Dark, by Lawrence Osborne, received rave reviews when it was published in 2016. ... more
KING NORODOM'S HEAD
If you have any affection for the growing city of Phnom Penh — and nostalgia for its disappearing past — you’ll love King Norodom’s Head: Phnom Penh Sights Beyond the Guidebooks. ... more
RIVER OF TIME
River of Time is British reporter Jon Swain’s memoir of his time in Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1970s — the titular river refers to Indochina’s Mekong. ... more
THE GATE
At once horrifying and intelligent, The Gate is an extraordinary personal account of the workings of the Khmer Rouge. ... more
A BRIEF HISTORY OF INDONESIA. SULTANS, SPICES AND TSUNAMIS: THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF SOUTHEAST ASIA'S LARGEST NATION
In his introduction to A Brief History of Indonesia, Tim Hannigan says that he aimed to write in the pages ahead the book he was looking for years ago when he first came to Indonesia but failed to find: an accessible history to explain something of the vast and diverse country to new visitors. ... more
A HOUSE IN BALI
Published in 1947, A House in Bali by Colin McPhee remains today a relevant and engaging book for readers looking to learn about the intricacies and history of Balinese culture generally, and music specifically. ... more
BEAUTY IS A WOUND
Beauty is a Wound, the debut novel by Eka Kurniawan, is a rollicking, colourful, wild ride through Indonesian history, seen mostly from the perspective of Dewi Ayu, the mixed-race granddaughter of Dutch colonialists, and her four daughters to various fathers. ... more
BLACK WATER
Black Water by Louise Doughty is a beautiful novel tracing the life of "John Harper", a name chosen by the son of an Indonesian-Dutch couple when he becomes an “operative” for the Amsterdam-based Institute. ... more
HOME
Epic, compelling, important: 2012-published Home, by Indonesia’s Leila S. Chudori (Pulang in Indonesian) is a colourful and illuminating novel tracing the lives of Indonesian political exiles in Paris from 1968 onwards and, several decades on, their children both there and Jakarta during the upheavals and violence of 1998. ... more
IN THE TIME OF MADNESS
In the Time of Madness is arguably the most compelling book written about Indonesia in the late 20th century. British correspondent Richard Lloyd Parry brings the roiling turmoil of the era to life with his snappy but sensitive reportage. ... more
INDONESIA ETC.
If you’re heading to Indonesia, or seeking to get even a slight understanding of this complex archipelago nation, Elizabeth Pisani’s beautiful Indonesia Etc: Exploring the Improbable Nation is essential reading. ... more
KRAKATOA: THE DAY THE WORLD EXPLODED
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded by Simon Winchester is the incredible tale of the Indonesian volcano that exploded into smithereens in 1883. Jam-packed with fabulous twists, turns and diversions into geology, history, politics, technology and evolution, it’s a rollicking traipse across continents, disciplines and history. ... more
MAP OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD
Map of the Invisible World is at heart the story of two Indonesian brothers separated when they are adopted out by different families from an orphanage. ... more
ON THE JAVA RIDGE
A fast-paced political thriller rather than a travel tale, On the Java Ridge explores the humanity behind Australia’s draconian border policies. ... more
RAFFLES AND THE BRITISH INVASION OF JAVA
Raffles and the British Invasion of Java is a gripping, page-turner of a history that examines the five years of British rule in Java, from 1811 to 1816. ... more
RING OF FIRE
Looking for some inspiration to get off the map in Indonesia? Lawrence Blair will fill your bucket list with incredible places to go. ... more
THE BANDA ISLANDS: HIDDEN HISTORIES AND MIRACLES OF NATURE
The Banda Islands: Hidden Histories and Miracles of Nature is an eclectic anthology of writings, photographs, illustrations and maps relating to Indonesia’s Banda Islands. ... more
THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO
They just don’t make them like they used to. ... more
THE RAINBOW TROOPS
Andrea Hirata’s The Rainbow Troops, originally published in Indonesian in 2005, is a delightful and poignant coming-of-age tale set in rural Indonesia. ... more
THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY
Yes, the shadow puppet as a metaphor for Indonesia’s (or at least Java’s) political system has been done to death, but Christopher J. Koch’s The Year of Living Dangerously is perhaps the book that polishes it off best, even if unironically. ... more
THIS EARTH OF MANKIND
This Earth of Mankind is the first of Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s Buru Quartet series. ... more
UNDER THE VOLCANO
Under the Volcano by Cameron Forbes is one of the better easy-reading histories and modern reportage books on Bali. ... more
A GREAT PLACE TO HAVE A WAR: AMERICA IN LAOS AND THE BIRTH OF A MILITARY CIA
A Great Place to Have a War: America in Laos and the Birth of a Military CIA, by Joshua Kurlantzick, an expert on Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, is a quite exhaustive history of US involvement in tiny, landlocked Laos in the lead up to and during the American war in Vietnam. ... more
AFTERLAND: POEMS
You might not immediately consider that the American War in Laos and the Hmong refugee experience form natural subjects for poems. But Afterland by Mai Der Vang is an extraordinary collection of powerful poems that excavate the humanity of those swept up in the war and the subsequent exodus of some 300,000 Hmong refugees to the United States. ... more
HOT SOUR SALTY SWEET
Hot Sour Salty Sweet combines cookbook with travelogue and when it was published in 2000, it became an instant classic, the definitive introduction to foods of Southeast Asia, the go-to for recipes. ... more
I SHOT THE BUDDHA (A DR SIRI PAIBOUN MYSTERY)
I Shot the Buddha is number 11 in Colin Cotterill’s delightful Laos-set Dr Siri Paiboun mystery series, and it’s out next month in paperback. ... more
STALKING THE ELEPHANT KINGS
While Stalking the Elephant Kings was published nearly 20 years ago, it remains a fascinating and fun general introduction to Laos — and sadly there aren’t too many of those. ... more
THE CORONER'S LUNCH: A DR SIRI MURDER MYSTERY
The Coroner’s Lunch is an intelligently fun and readable murder mystery set in Laos. This is the first book we’ve read by prolific author Colin Cotterill, and it won’t be the last. ... more
THE SPIRIT CATCHES YOU AND YOU FALL DOWN
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is a multi-layered, stunning and heartbreaking book about the lives of a Hmong refugee family from Laos in Merced, California. ... more
MY LIFE AS A FAKE
Published in 2004 and set mostly in Kuala Lumpur in 1972, My Life As a Fake, by Australian Booker-prize winning author Peter Carey, is at its heart the tale of an Australian literary hoax and its reverberations into the present. ... more
THE FACE: STRANGERS ON A PIER
Tash Aw’s lovely personal essay Strangers on a Pier examines the rich diversity of a slice of modern Asia through his own family’s immigration and educational experience. ... more
THE GARDEN OF EVENING MISTS
This haunting, quiet novel peels back life in Malaya and Malaysia in a beautiful, serious way. ... more
THE HARMONY SILK FACTORY
The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw recounts the life of a successful Chinese textile merchant in Malaya during the British colonial years, leading up to the Japanese occupation. But nothing is as straightforward as it first seems. ... more
WHEN THE FUTURE COMES TOO SOON
Covering a period in a setting rarely covered in English-language literature, When the Future Comes Too Soon, by author Selina Siak Chin Yoke (born in Singapore when it was part of Malaysia), is a welcome fictional tale of Mei Foong and her family during the Japanese occupation of Malaya—today’s Malaysia. ... more
CRAZY RICH ASIANS
Crazy Rich Asians is a rollicking read set in the lives of Singapore’s ultra-rich. ... more
FROM THIRD WORLD TO FIRST
If you’re interested in Singapore and want to know more, why not go straight to, pretty much, the source? ... more
IF I COULD TELL YOU
Set in and around soon-to-be-demolished Block 204 in Singapore, If I Could Tell You, by Jing-Jing Lee, is a series of vignettes of ordinary people going about their everyday lives in the city state. ... more
IN TRANSIT: AN ANTHOLOGY
In Transit: An Anthology, is a collection of short stories, essays and poetry using Singapore’s Changi airport as either their focus or launchpad. ... more
IT NEVER RAINS ON NATIONAL DAY
Jeremy Tiang’s short story collection It Never Rains on National Day is a refreshing take on Singapore. ... more
SARONG PARTY GIRLS
A beach read with a difference, Sarong Party Girls by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan is light and breezy but at its core is a subversive message about Singaporean society and the place women have in it. ... more
SINGAPORE NOIR
Singapore Noir is a collection of 14 moody, totally enthralling short stories edited by Cheryl Lu-Tien Tan, each set in a recognisable neighbourhood in the titular city-state. ... more
STATE OF EMERGENCY
Sprawling across several generations and historical events, Jeremy Tiang’s Singapore-set State of Emergency is multilayered and nuanced. ... more
SUGARBREAD
At its heart, the lovely novel Sugarbread is the story of Pin, her mother and grandmother, secrets and inter-generational cultural change. ... more
THE ART OF CHARLIE CHAN HOCK CHYE
Genre-busting Sonny Liew’s graphic novel The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is not only one of the most beautiful books we’ve both seen and read on Singapore, but it easily counts as one of our top Southeast Asian reads published in recent years. ... more
THE LAST LESSON OF MRS DE SOUZA
The Last Lesson of Mrs de Souza is the somewhat poignant tale of Singaporean teacher Rose de Souza, who recounts her last day as a school teacher before retirement. Cyril Wong’s short, elegant novel, published in 2013, peers into Singaporean school life, which can naturally be seen as a microcosm of Singaporean society. ... more
THE TOWER
A relatively short, crisp novel, The Tower by Singaporean Malay author Isa Kamari follows the journey of a famed architect walking up a 101-storey tower that he designed himself. Trudging up with an assistant on the eve of the new millennium, he reflects on his life and its highlights and lowlights along the way. ... more
A LAND ON FIRE: THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN BOOM
James Fahn’s A Land on Fire was first published more than a decade ago, but remains an important and highly readable book that lays the groundwork for anyone interested in understanding the massive environmental challenges that continue to face Thailand today. ... more
A TIGER IN EDEN
The Thailand of 1996 is the backdrop to Chris Flynn’s compelling 2012-published novel, A Tiger in Eden. And while it’s not the most well-rounded depiction of the kingdom we’ve come across in fiction, the story of the protagonist Billy Montgomery is so enthralling that we’re happy to put that aside and still recommend the book if you’re travelling there. ... more
BANGKOK FOUND
Bangkok Found by Alex Kerr pierces deeply into the art, culture and people of Thailand in a book that reads more like an inspiring travel narrative than a stuffy research project. Countless cultural intricacies will surface if you read this before a trip to Bangkok. ... more
BANGKOK: A CULTURAL AND LITERARY HISTORY
Maryvelma O’Neil’s 2008-published Bangkok: A Cultural and Literary History is an eclectic, erudite and elegant glide through the history of Thailand, with a focus on its modern capital, Bangkok. ... more
HOTHOUSE FLOWER
Hothouse Flower is a sprawling, multi-generational family saga mostly set in the United Kingdom in the modern day, with Bangkok at the end of World War II featuring as the secondary setting. ... more
JASMINE NIGHTS
A novel not easily defined by genre, S.P. Somtow’s 1994-published Jasmine Nights is at its heart a rollicking, irreverent coming-of-age tale set in upper-class Thai society in the 1960s. It tells the story of English-educated Justin, or Little Frog, mysteriously left by his parents with his extended family in a sprawling compound in Bangkok. ... more
MAI PEN RAI MEANS NEVER MIND
Memoirs of expatriates aren’t our favourite genre when it comes to Southeast Asian reading, but Carol Hollinger’s Mai Pen Rai Means Never Mind is the best of its kind to come out of Thailand. ... more
MANY LIVES
The late M.R Kukrit Pramoj was a celebrated statesman, journalist, classical dancer, writer and “one of the most imposing and impressive personalities of modern Thai history”, according to scholar and translator, Meredith Borthwick. ... more
SIGHTSEEING
I love reading about a place that I am travelling through, and all-the-better if the book makes me squirm with horrible recognition: ... more
TALES OF OLD BANGKOK: RICH STORIES FROM THE LAND OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT
Tales of Old Bangkok: Rich Stories from the Land of the White Elephant is a collection of colourful snippets from various written sources about Bangkok, mostly from the 1800s through to the 1960s. ... more
THAI STREET FOOD
Part recipe book, part coffee-table art, Thai Street Food is a wonderful celebration of, well, Thailand’s street food. And it’s even more than a pretty recipe book: Chef and Thai food expert David Thompson also includes plenty of interesting history and reportage about the street food of the kingdom. ... more
THE BEACH
Set to be re-released by Penguin on July 7 to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of its publishing, The Beach by Alex Garland was hailed as being the quintessential Southeast Asian backpacking novel. ... more
THE DRINKING FOOD OF THAILAND
Flicking through Andy Ricker’s The Drinking Food of Thailand, I was immediately and naturally drawn to the recipe for Isaan fermented pork-and-rice sausages, one of my favourite Thai foods. Is there any chance I would make these at home? Pretty much no. I don’t have a sausage maker, nor a sausage funnel. But when it comes to being pleased at holding this hot little 2017-published recipe book in my hand, does it matter? No. ... more
THE IDEAL MAN: THE TRAGEDY OF JIM THOMPSON AND THE AMERICAN WAY OF WAR
A detailed biography of the American spy-turned-silk-king Jim Thompson, The Ideal Man explores decades of intriguing US-Thai relations as a necessary backdrop to his life. ... more
THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH
The 2014 Man Booker winner is a deep, dark and important read. ... more
THE SAD PART WAS
Prabda Yoon won the prestigious SEA Write Award for Kwam Na Ja Pen (Probability) in 2002, but it’s only now that these stories have been translated into English for The Sad Part Was. ... more
THE WINDUP GIRL
Even if you’re not a fan of science fiction—it’s certainly not a genre we usually pick up—if you’re interested in Thailand and in particular the craziness of Bangkok and where it might be headed as we hurtle into the decades ahead, The Windup Girl makes for a good dystopian read. ... more
VERY THAI: EVERYDAY POPULAR CULTURE
It’s more than a decade old, but 2005-published Very Thai: Everyday Popular Culture by Philip Cornwel-Smith remains a fun, offbeat examination of ordinary Thai lifestyles and culture. ... more
BRIGHT SHINING LIE
This huge and highly awarded book is crucial reading for anyone with an interest not just in the Vietnam War, but Vietnam today, as it recovers from the aftermath of that tragedy (and also, war in general). Good news: the lengthy book is an utterly compelling and stunning read. ... more
DESTINATION SAIGON
Destination Saigon is part memoir, part reportage, a collection of intimate and often very funny stories by Walter Mason about his exploration of spirituality across Buddhist-majority Vietnam. ... more
DRAGON APPARENT
Dragon Apparent, first published in 1951, is Norman Lewis' account of his travels across French-controlled Indochina in the decades leading up to the American War. ... more
EATING VIET NAM: DISPATCHES FROM A BLUE PLASTIC TABLE
Eating Viet Nam: Dispatches from a Blue Plastic Table is a memoir of avid street-food-diner-turned-blogger Graham Holliday. ... more
EAVES OF HEAVEN: A LIFE IN THREE WARS
Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars is the extraordinary part-life story of author Andrew X. Pham’s Vietnamese father, Thong Van Pham. ... more
FISHING FOR TIGERS
Fishing for Tigers by Australian author Emily Maguire is the tale of an American woman, Mischa, who moves to Hanoi after leaving an abusive relationship back home and remakes her life, working as an editor. ... more
MOST DANGEROUS: DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE VIETNAM WAR
How many more books do we need about the American War in Vietnam? Steve Sheinkin’s Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War proves there is room for more. ... more
NIGHT SKY WITH EXIT WOUNDS
Award-winning, 2016-published Night Sky With Exit Wounds is a beautiful collection of often startling poems by Vietnamese-born, American-raised refugee Ocean Vuong. Spanning war, the fall of Saigon, gay love, families and much more, the poems may traverse sometimes familiar ground, but they offer fresh perspectives using language that sparkles as if its very words were diamonds. ... more
THE BEST WE COULD DO
The Best We Could Do, by Thi Bui, is a beautifully drawn graphic memoir that tells the story of Thi’s parents before they fled Vietnam in 1978 with her and her siblings. More than this though, it’s also a quiet meditation on becoming a parent, and considering where she, her parents and her son sit in the generational story of their family. ... more
THE LOVER
Based on her childhood growing up in and around Saigon in the 1930s, Marguerite Duras’ The Lover is a languid, almost meditative autobiographical novel at once erotic, disturbing, beautiful, shocking and revealing. ... more
THE QUIET AMERICAN
The Quiet American by Graham Greene is a classic not just about Vietnam — it portrays the nation at a crucial and intriguing juncture in its history — but about American foreign policy, and folly, as well. ... more
THE REFUGEES
From the Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen, comes this collection of gently sad and poignant stories about Vietnamese refugees and their lives in the United States. ... more
THE SORROW OF WAR
Hard-hitting, deeply earnest and unabashedly brutal, Bao Ninh’s 1994-published The Sorrow of War is a North Vietnamese war classic that remains essential reading for visitors to Vietnam today. Even if you don’t have a particular interest in the war years, it seems almost disrespectful to not read it if you are travelling to Vietnam. ... more
THE SYMPATHIZER
Another American War in Vietnam novel? Really? We admit to thinking this on hearing about The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, but given it won the Pulitzer prize for fiction earlier this year (and being suckers for literary prizes), we had to give it a read. And: wow. What a refreshing, shocking, beautiful, thought-provoking read. ... more
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
Tim O’Brien’s exquisite The Things They Carried is an interwoven collection of stunning stories centred on the American War in Vietnam and its aftermath for a handful of American soldiers, and in particular the author. ... more
TWO CITIES: HANOI AND SAIGON
Two Cities: Hanoi and Saigon is a slim, elegant book by Neil Sheehan about Vietnam in 1989. ... more
WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER
When the War Was Over by Elizabeth Becker is one of the most compelling, unputdown-able books on the modern history of Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge. ... more
A COOK'S TOUR
If you’re looking for a page-turning description of what it used to be like to travel and eat in Vietnam or Cambodia as a hungry and curious white American dude back in the day, then Anthony Bourdain’s 2001-published A Cook’s Tour is the book for you. ... more
A FIELD GUIDE TO GETTING LOST
Rebecca Solnit’s beautiful collection of nine essays, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, are a wonderful meditation on the transformations that take place when one gets lost. Whether it’s through travel, escape or internal disruption, getting lost is about new perspectives and interpretations, and often transformation. ... more
A FORTUNE TELLER TOLD ME: EARTHBOUND TRAVELS IN THE FAR EAST
Travel memoir A Fortune Teller Told Me: Earthbound Travels in the Far East , sees Italian journalist Tiziano Terzani roam mostly across the Southeast Asia of the early 1990s, introducing us to some intriguing characters and fascinating anecdotes. Published in 1995, the book shows a snapshot of Asia back then, a meandering and enjoyable read for those particularly interested in the region. ... more
ASIAN GODFATHERS
The underpinnings of Southeast Asia’s various economies—and by extension, societies—are superbly explained by Joe Studwell in this comprehensive look at the tycoon families of Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. ... more
BARBARIAN DAYS: A SURFING LIFE
It’s not focused on Southeast Asia — Indonesia gets the briefest of mentions — but if you’re a surfer (as so many travellers to this region are), you love a surfer (ditto), or you’re just intrigued by the culture (double ditto), Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life is for you. ... more
BLOOD AND SILK: POWER AND CONFLICT IN MODERN SOUTHEAST ASIA
Blood and Silk is an erudite romp through Southeast Asia’s modern political and economic history in the hands of experienced regional hand Michael Vatikiotis. ... more
GHOST TRAIN TO THE EASTERN STAR: ON THE TRACKS OF THE GREAT RAILWAY BAZAAR
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar sees travel writer Paul Theroux return to the same train lines and destinations that he visited more than 30 years earlier. ... more
HELLO SHADOWLANDS: INSIDE THE METH FIEFDOMS, REBEL HIDEOUTS AND BOMB-SCARRED PARTY TOWNS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA
In Hello Shadowlands: Inside the Meth Fiefdoms, Rebel Hideouts and Bomb-Scarred Party Towns of Southeast Asia , Patrick Winn crawls right into the underbellies of selected criminal (and colourful) subcultures across Southeast Asia. If you’re looking to read something to balance out endless Instagram snapshots of sunny Southeast Asian beaches dotted with umbrella-stabbed coconuts, this dark book is it. ... more
MARCO POLO DIDN’T GO THERE
In 2008-published Marco Polo Didn’t Go There, American travel writer Rolf Potts presents an anthology of previously published works drawn from a decade of travel around the world. The pieces touch on a raft of issues, such as backpacker culture, overtourism, press trips and ecotourism and are an interesting and at times very funny page turner. ... more
MY LIFE WITH BOB: FLAWED HEROINE KEEPS BOOK OF BOOKS, PLOT ENSUES
Pamela Paul has kept a Book of Books (Bob) listing all the books she has read, or attempted to read, for 28 years. My Life With Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues, is Paul’s memoir of her life as a reader. ... more
OVERBOOKED: THE EXPLODING BUSINESS OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM
Elizabeth Becker’s Overbooked is part reportage, part travelogue and part annoying—not all in equal measure thankfully—and remains a useful primer for the reader with an interest in where the global tourism train is taking us. ... more
PACIFIC: THE OCEAN OF THE FUTURE
Simon Winchester’s 2015-published Pacific: The Ocean of the Future (or, in other editions, Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators and Fading Empires ) is an erudite series of compelling historical vignettes that together create a colourful portrait of the Pacific Ocean and its modern past. ... more
THE ART OF TRAVEL
Alain de Botton’s The Art of Travel is a wonderfully wise and reassuring book. ... more
THE GLAMOUR OF STRANGENESS
Erudite, colourful and packed with intriguing anecdotes, Jamie James’ Glamour of Strangeness: Artists and the Last Age of the Exotic is a romp through a bygone era, studying the lives of six artists who left their homelands to pursue creativity elsewhere. ... more
THE GREAT RAILWAY BAZAAR
“Anything is possible on a train: a great meal, a binge, a visit from card players, an intrigue, a good night’s sleep,
and strangers’ monologues framed like Russian short stories,” writes Paul Theroux in his 1975-published classic, The Great Railway Bazaar. ... more
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS
Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love wasn't our cup of tea, but The Signature of All Things is another beast entirely. ... more