The Republic of Vietnam, 1955-1975: Vietnamese Perspectives on Nation Building

by Tuong Vu (Editor), Sean Fear (Editor)

Overview

Through the voices of senior officials, teachers, soldiers, journalists, and artists, The Republic of Vietnam, 1955–1975, presents us with an interpretation of "South Vietnam" as a passionately imagined nation in the minds of ordinary Vietnamese, rather than merely as an expeditious political construct of the United States government.

The moving and honest memoirs collected, translated, and edited here by Tuong Vu and Sean Fear describe the experiences of war, politics, and everyday life for people from many walks of life during the fraught years of Vietnam's Second Republic, leading up to and encompassing what Americans generally call the "Vietnam War." The voices gift the reader a sense of the authors' experiences in the Republic and their ideas about the nation during that time. The light and careful editing hand of Vu and Fear reveals that far from a Cold War proxy struggle, the conflict in Vietnam featured a true ideological divide between the communist North and the non-communist South.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501745126
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	01/15/2020
Pages:	210
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.75(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Tuong Vu is Director of the Asian Studies Program and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Oregon. He is a former editor of the Journal of Vietnamese Studies and the author of numerous books, including Vietnam's Communist Revolution and Paths to Development in Asia.

Sean Fear is a Lecturer in International History at the University of Leeds.

Table of Contents

Introduction, by Tuong Vu and Sean Fear
1. Coping with Changes and War, Building a Foundation for Growth, by Nguyn Đc Cýng
2. The Birth of Central Banking, 1955–1956, by Vũ Quc Thúc
3. Reform or Collapse: Economic Challenges during Vietnamization, by Phạm Kim Ngc
4. Land Reform and Agricultural Development, 1968–1975, by Cao Văn Thân
5. Striving for a Lasting Peace: The Paris Accords and Aftermath, by Hoàng Đc Nhã
6. Public Security and the National Police, by Trn Minh Công
7. Reflections of a Frontline Soldier, by Bùi Quyn
8. The Philosophies and Development of a Free Education, by Nguyn Hu Phýc
9. Personal Reflections on the Educational System, by Võ Kim Sõn
10. Life and Work of a Journalist, by Phạm Trn
11. The Vietnam War in the Eyes of a Vietnamese War Correspondent, by Vũ Thanh Thy
12. Sóng Thn's Campaign for Press Freedom, by Trùng Dýõng
13. Writers of the Republic of Vietnam, by Nhã Ca and Trùng Dýõng
14. The Cinema Industry, by Kiu Chinh
15. The Neglect of the Republic of Vietnam in the American Historical Memory, by Nu-Anh Tran
16. Political, Military, and Cultural Memoirs in Vietnamese, by Tuan Hoang
About the Editors
Index

What People are Saying About This

Van Nguyen-Marshall

This valuable collection includes perspectives that have been consistently overlooked in the historiography of the War. Readers are afforded not only South Vietnamese perspectives, but also those of civil servants, soldiers, police officers, educators, writers, artists, and journalists. This is also one of the few works in which South Vietnamese women's voices are heard.

Editorial Reviews

"The Republic of Vietnam is a primer and a demand for a more comprehensive, Vietnamese-written works of history...Thanks to Tuong Vu and Sean Fear's efforts, the thoughts, impressions, and words of these pivotal individuals in South Vietnamese history have been preserved."

diaCRITICS

Overall, the volume paints an authentic if rosy picture of South Vietnamese efforts to forge an enduring state and society for themselves. The volume should provide excellent teaching materials for undergraduateand graduate-level courses on Vietnamese history.

Pacific Affairs

The Republic of Vietnam is a primer and a demand for a more comprehensive, Vietnamese-written works of history...Thanks to Tuong Vu and Sean Fear's efforts, the thoughts, impressions, and words of these pivotal individuals in South Vietnamese history have been preserved.

Diacritics

The Republic of Vietnam is a primer and a demand for a more comprehensive, Vietnamese-written works of history...Thanks to Tuong Vu and Sean Fear's efforts, the thoughts, impressions, and words of these pivotal individuals in South Vietnamese history have been preserved.

-- "Diacritics"

Overall, the volume paints an authentic if rosy picture of South Vietnamese efforts to forge an enduring state and society for themselves. The volume should provide excellent teaching materials for undergraduateand graduate-level courses on Vietnamese history.

-- "Pacific Affairs"

From the Publisher

"This valuable collection includes perspectives that have been consistently overlooked in the historiography of the War. Readers are afforded not only South Vietnamese perspectives, but also those of civil servants, soldiers, police officers, educators, writers, artists, and journalists. This is also one of the few works in which South Vietnamese women's voices are heard."

Van Nguyen-Marshall