Vietnam

Although the vast majority of both fiction and nonfiction books published on Vietnam have been by Western writers (and most of those about the American War), this has begun to change — and the results are wonderful. Although a Western writer can interpret a culture and make it more accessible in in terms familiar to us, writers such as Andrew Pham, who immigrated to America as a ten year-old (and has experienced both cultures) immerses you far deeper into his native land losing many of the cliches and superficial observations typically common in travel journalism. Note: these links are not bait to redirect you to Amazon to purchase a book -- you already know how to do that!). However, there is some shameless promotion of our friend's and guide's books. For more on Vietnamese literature and prominent authors, please visit BVOM.

• Vietnam Now by David Lamb, 2002. Published by PublicAffairs New York. If you read only one book on Vietnam, this should be it.
• The Other Side of Heaven. An excellent compilation of post-war fiction by Vietnamese and American Writers.
• Impasse by Nguyen Cong Hoan. A 1938 novel set against the deep injustices of colonial rule. Translated.
• Where the Ashes Are. Emotional recollection of his family's tragic seperation and his subsequent adaption to life in America by Duc Qui Nguyen, PBS commentator.
• Catfish and Mandala Reqired reading for our bike tours. "A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam." A staff favorite and must-read if you are cycling across Vietnam. By Andrew Pham.
• The Sacred Willow: Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family by Duong Van Mai Elliott
• Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao. Engaging fiction of a young girl's settling from Vietnam to American suburbia.
• A Bright Shining Lie : John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam by Neil Sheehan.
• In Retrospect. The tragedy and Lessons of the Vietnam War. Who better qualified to summarize the "American War" than Robert McNamara? Also see documentary Fog of War.
• The Quiet American the post-colonial classic by Graham Greene.
• Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos Handbook by VeloAsia guide Michael Buckley.
• Lonely Planet: Vietnam, by VeloAsia guide Mason Florence.
• Vietnam: A Traveler's Literary Companion. Edited by John Balaban and KQED host and producer Nguyen Qui Duc.
• A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain. Pulitzer Prize Fiction by Robert Olen Butler.
• The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh. A northern soldier's tragic and haunting war tale.
• Passage to Vietnam by Rick Smolan (Author of popular Day in the Life series). Photo book and incredible multi-media CDROM.
• Vietnam Arts Books (and more): Montreal-based, extensive artist and galleries.
• Dozens of Vietnam-specific books at ThingsAsian.

Online:

• Vietnam Passage. PBS series with images, stories, video.
• Breaking News on Vietnam
• Guide/travel writer Michael Buckley's many stories on our site.
• Short story writer Andrew Lam's many insightful stories and commentaries on his native country.
• Many, many stories, images, travelogues (over 300), and variety of art at Albert Wen's popular www.thingsasian.com.
• Nguyen Qui Duc's Vietnam: Looking for Home Screened on KQED

Film:

• Three Seasons. A picturesque, Sundance 1999 Award Winner. Review.
• Chac, by Kim Chi Tyler. A daughter returns to Vietnam twenty years after to meet her birth father.
• Scent of the Green Papaya. A classic story of a house servant in 40's Vietnam. Ebert review.
• Indochine. A stunningly beautiful French work. Ebert review.

         Other:

• Pacific Bridge Contemporary Southeast Asian Art. Featuring Vietnamese artists.
• Destination Vietnam: The premier English-language Web site on all things Vietnam.
• Viet Touch - Art, architecture, literature, music, and philatelist history of Vietnam.
• Curbstone Press Vietnam subject books: Vietnam catalog.
  

Cambodia

• Angkor : An Introduction to the Temples. Definitive reference by Dawn Rooney, Odyssey, 3rd ed, 1999.
• Angkor: Heart of an Asian Empire. Thames and Hudson, New Horizons.
• The Customs of Cambodia by Chou Ta-Kuan (written in 1312!), Siam Society Bangkok. Poss. out of print.
• Sideshow. Shawcross, William. Simon and Schuster, 1979).
• An extensive reading list from mekong.net
• The China—Cambodia—Vietnam Triangle. Burchett, WilfriedLondon: Zed Books, 1981.
• Brother Enemy: The War after the War. Chanda, Nayan. New York: Collier, 1986.
• The Tragedy of Cambodian History: Politics, War and Revolution since 1945. Chandler, David P. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991.
• Red Brotherhood at War: Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos since 1975. rev. ed. Evans, Grant and Kelvin Rowley. London: Verso, 1990.
• Cambodia: Rendezvous with Death 1975—1978. Jackson, Karl D., ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989.
• Kiernan, Ben. The Pol Pot Regime. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.
• Klintworth, Gary. Vietnam's Intervention in Cambodia in International Law. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Group, 1989.
• Morris, Stephen J. Why Vietnam Invaded Cambodia. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999.
• Vickery, Michael. Cambodia, 1975—1982. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 1999.

Film

• City of Ghosts, 2003. Matt Dillon's directoral debut.
• The Killing Fields. Oscar Winner.
• Swimming to Cambodia. A humorous video monologue of troubled times by a troubled man, Spalding Gray.

Myanmar

• Burmese Days by George Orwell. The classic novel of the British colonial period by George Orwell who was stationed there for 5 years.
• The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason, Picador. Newer novel made into film set in 19th century colnial Burma.
• The Stone of Heaven by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark. Riveting "historical research, travelogue, and investigative journalism" bring out the rich history of Burma's Imperial Green Jade trade with China during the Mandarin period.

  The Trouser People: A Story of Burma In the Shadow of the Empire
  Andrew Marshall
  (Counterpoint, paperback, $16.00)

  Burmese Days
  George Orwell
  LITERATURE •  1989 •  PAPER  • 287 PAGES
  Orwell, a veteran of the colonial police force in Rangoon, writes with irony and insight of colonial Asia in this classic novel. (BMA03, $13.00)

  The Piano Tuner
  Daniel Mason
  In tnis transporting first novel, a mild-mannered tradesman is seduced by late Victorian Burma. (BMA31, $14.00)
  
  Golden Earth by Norman Lewis
  Describes travels in Burma in 1951.
  Written by a famous traveller who enjoys travelling to remote places.
  
  The River of Lost Footsteps by Thant Myint-U. A history of Burma. 2006. This is the book John recommended. I have not read it yet but it looks good.
  
  Lonely Planet. Myanmar Burma. A good up-to-date travel guide with pictures.

Film

The Burmese Harp, 1956 based on anovel by Takeyama Michio. 1957 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film". Reamde in 1985 by same director.

 

Turkey

• The Black Book. Snow. Istanbul. Orhan Pamuk, Harcourt Brace publishing.
• Turkish Reflections, A Biography of a Place by Mary Lee Settle, 1991 Touchstone Books.
• Turkish Coast. Covering the Aegean and Medeterranean coast. APA Insight Guides.