Vietnam
The LP Vietnam guidebook recommends these books:
Vietnam: A Traveller's Literary Companion (1996)
Fragrant Palm Leaves by Thich Nhat Hanh (1998)
Sparring with Charlie: motorbiking down the Ho Chi Minh Trail (1996) by Christopher Hunt
Ten Years After (1987) by Tim Page
Derailed in Uncle Ho's Victory Garden (1995) by Tim Page
A Dragon Apparent (1952) by Norman Lewis
Hitchhiking Vietnam (1998) by Karin Muller
Catfish and Mandala (1999) by Andrew X Pham
Phaic Tan: Sunstroke on a Shoestring (2004)
Before visiting Vietnam I managed to read A Dragon Apparent by Norman Lewis. If you are after a view of contemporary Vietnam then this is not for you. Lewis travels around Vietnam during the very early 50s, during the French occupation. It is wonderful read mainly for the detail he gives to the French colonial characters, and the culture of the hill tribes (Mois).
markbroadhead Before visiting Vietnam I managed to read A Dragon Apparent by Norman Lewis. If you are after a view of contemporary Vietnam then this is not for you. Lewis travels around Vietnam during the very early 50s, during the French occupation. It is wonderful read mainly for the detail he gives to the French colonial characters, and the culture of the hill tribes (Mois).
The two best books on Vietnam that I read before my visit were about the American War.
Michael Herr's Dispatches is matched by the equally stunning The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh. I haven't read many more books on Vietnam, but these stand the highest in my estimation.
venessap Thanks Mark. I'm soon to head to Vietnam, and these recommendations are appreciated.
muddy99 Try "Novel without a name" by Duong Thu Huong for a war story from the other side.
"Highways to a War" by Christoper Koch has a 70s feel (loosely based on "one crowded hour" cameraman Neil Davis).
And Graham Green's The Quiet American...
and for a psycho movie trip, try "Cyclo"
frannois My girlfriend read all of Duong Thu Huong books and said they were amazing. She said she felt like when we were there just by reading the descriptions of smells, colors and landscapes. And the stories are good too!.
While in Vietnam, I read the sorrow of war and the quiet american, two good book to understand two major eras of recent Vietnam history.