Product Description

In Lost Modernities Alexander Woodside offers a probing revisionist overview of the bureaucratic politics of preindustrial China, Vietnam, and Korea. He focuses on the political and administrative theory of the three mandarinates and their long experimentation with governments recruited in part through meritocratic civil service examinations remarkable for their transparent procedures.

The quest for merit-based bureaucracy stemmed from the idea that good politics could be established through the "development of people"--the training of people to be politically useful. Centuries before civil service examinations emerged in the Western world, these three Asian countries were basing bureaucratic advancement on examinations in addition to patronage. But the evolution of the mandarinates cannot be accommodated by our usual timetables of what is "modern." The history of China, Vietnam, and Korea suggests that the rationalization processes we think of as modern may occur independently of one another and separate from such landmarks as the growth of capitalism or the industrial revolution.

A sophisticated examination of Asian political traditions, both their achievements and the associated risks, this book removes modernity from a standard Eurocentric understanding and offers a unique new perspective on the transnational nature of Asian history and on global historical time.

Product Description
Presents the life of an eleven-year-old girl and her family in Vietnam, describing her home and school activities and discussing the history, geography, ethnic composition, languages, culture, and other aspects of her country. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Junior Scholastic, published by Scholastic, Inc. on November 23, 2009. The length of the article is 577 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Vietnam revs up: JS presents the five themes of geography: location, place, movement, regions, and human-environment interaction.(5 THEMES of Geography: Place)(Junior Scholastic)
Author: Jim McMahon
Publication: Junior Scholastic (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 23, 2009
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Volume: 112Issue: 7Page: 22(3)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Product Description
With more than one hundred four-color maps supplemented by photographs and reconstructions, the Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War provides the first major visualization of that war as well as a penetrating and comprehensive analysis of the conflict based on both U.S. and Vietnamese postwar accounts. The atlas begins with an overview of the foundations of the Vietnamese nation-state, including its almost two-thousand-year struggle to break free from Chinese domination and its century-long fight to gain its independence from French colonial rule, and sets the 1954 partition of the country and the subsequent American involvement there in their cold war context. U.S. involvement is examined in depth to provide an understanding of why America intervened and why, despite its battlefield successes, it ultimately failed to obtain its political objective: a free and independent South Vietnam. Colonel Harry G. Summers, Jr., examines the many anomalies of the war, including why the United States bought the Communist propaganda line that relations between China and Vietnam were as "the lips to the teeth," when Vietnam actually felt betrayed by its Chinese "ally." Unlike most U.S. writings on the war, which end with the 1968 Tet Offensive - a failing analogous to ending the study of World War II with Stalingrad or Guadalcanal - Summers' essay draws on North Vietnamese sources to explode the notion that the war was an indigenous South Vietnamese uprising. He details the destruction of the Viet Cong guerrillas in the Tet Offensive and tells how the war was primarily a conventional one waged by the regular armed forces of North Vietnam during the last seven years. The atlas examines the curious effect of the U.S. antiwar movement, the "Vietnamization" of the war, the Americans' cynical abandonment of their Asian ally, and the final North Vietnamese multi-division blitzkrieg that led to the fall of Saigon in 1975, as well as Robert McNamara's self-serving apologia that the war was militarily unwinnable from the onset. Given the strong emotion involved, many of the Vietname generation may continue to be wedded to their prejudices. But it has been said that those who came of age after the war know there is a skeleton in the family closet and now want to be let in on the secret. An examination of the forensic evidence, the Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War is the closest we have yet come to a thorough autopsy of that debacle. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Wandering Cities, Misplaced Units
I would consider The West Point Atlas of American Wars to be the gold standard of Military Atlases, by comparison this is tin. The maps are beautiful, well produced, and inaccurate all to often. The location of major Cities; Military units, and bases constantly change, are in the wrong place, or are left out completely. I don't believe that Qui Nhon the largest city in Central Viet Nam was ever located in the proper place, (how hard is it to put sea ports on the sea? ) and was often not shown. This would be like leaving Richmond out of an atlas of Civil War battles in the East. Other examples Tuy Hoa and Song Cau are also important coastal cities. They come and go move to other cities locations or are replaced by other cities or even towns. This is like having maps were Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia randomly appeared, disappeared, and changed places, or move, in a random manner. Interestingly the only map which seems to show all the coastal cities of Viet Nam where they really are is the 1945 French map on p45. This also applies to military bases. Phu Cat was one of the largest Air Force bases in Viet Nam, it originally was located 40 miles northwest of Qui Nhon before it started to move. It is first seen on p71 20 miles south of where it started; by p97 it has replaced Tuy Hoa 100 miles southwest and now on the coast; p171 has it back where it was first located, but never fear, the first tactical fighter wing that was stationed at Phu Cat is shown on p93 located in the mountains under triple canopy northwest of Tuy Hoa before Tuy Hoa vanishes, replaced by Van Canh, then Phu Cat, Tuy Hoa vanishes again, but then reappears in the proper place, interesting. Every City in South Viet Nam Except Saigon, and Da Nang move and vanish on these maps, I'm just getting tired of giving examples. The real question is, what good is a supposed atlas if the maps are this carelessly done?

Wandering Cities, Misplaced Units
I would consider The West Point Atlas of American Wars to be the gold standard of Military Atlases, by comparison this is tin. The maps are beautiful, well produced, and inaccurate all to often. The location of major Cities; Military units, and bases constantly change, are in the wrong place, or are left out completely. I don't believe that Qui Nhon the largest city in Central Viet Nam was ever located in the proper place, (how hard is it to put sea ports on the sea? ) and was often not shown. This would be like leaving Richmond out of an atlas of Civil War battles in the East. Other examples Tuy Hoa and Song Cau are also important coastal cities. They come and go move to other cities locations or are replaced by other cities or even towns. This is like having maps were Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia randomly appeared, disappeared, changed places, or moved, in a random manner. Interestingly the only map which seems to show all the coastal cities of Viet Nam where
they really are is the 1945 French map on p45
This also applies to military bases. Phu Cat was one of the largest Air Force bases in Viet Nam, it originally was located 40 miles northwest of
Qui Nhon before they started to move. It is first seen on p71 20 miles south of where it started by p97 it has replaced Tuy Hoa 100 miles southwest and now on the coast, p171 has it back where it was first located, but never fear, the first tactical fighter wing that was stationed at Phu Cat is shown on p93 to located in the mountains under triple canopy northwest of Tuy Hoa before it vanished.
Every City in South Viet Nam Except Saigon, and Da Nang move and vanish on these maps, I'm just getting tired of giving examples.
The real question is, what good is a supposed atlas if the maps are this carelessly done?

The War in Graphic Detail

All in all, this book is a pretty good narrative of the entire Vietnam War.The text is simple and concise, thus making it a relatively easy read.It is about 213 pages long but the reader will only read half these pages as the other half contain full page maps.The book is broken into seven major sections.Each section starts with a short narrative.Thus, the reader has a quick understanding of the upcoming battles.

The only shortcoming of the text is that the descriptions of the various battles are sometimes too brief.The Battle of the Ia Drang is essentially described as the Americans landing on an NVA Regiment, a battle ensued, the Americans called in air strikes and won the day.The reader is forced to look at other sources for any meaningful description of the battle.

Nevertheless, this book has some very good qualities.The often vague battlefield descriptions are overcome by excellent graphic maps.These full color maps provide a clear detail of the various units in a battle as well as their line of attack or retreat.The book also contains a good selection of photographs relating to each specific battle.Finally, this book is more than a collection of maps, pictures, and brief battlefield narratives.It also describes events and organizations such as MACV, the Green Berets, and the assassination of President Diem.

Bottom line: this book is a quick easy read about the entire Vietnam War.Although the battle narratives are weak, they are compensated by excellent graphic maps.This is a good addition to any home library about the Vietnam War.

A visual diary of the War.
This is a beautifully illustrated book with battlefield plans of the Vietnam Wars and details of all the troop movements. It places the reader right at the center of the war zone. The text on the left handside details the events involved at the time while maps are drawn on the right handside.

The texts are concised, focused and give the reader a clear and broad picture of the war.

Problems with the Maps
Too many things are shown in the wrong places on the maps.

The most hilarious example is on page 97.Laos had two capital cities: the royal capital of Luang Prabang, where the (purely ceremonial) king lived, and theadministrative capital of Vientiane, where there was an actual government. On this map, Luang Prabang has been moved across the border into NorthVietnam (a very strange place for the royal capital of Laos), whileVientiane has been moved across the other border into Thailand.The samemap also has the town of Vinh, in North Vietnam, shifted westward from itsactual location near the coast; it appears on this map to be closer to theLaotian border than to the sea.

Flip one page back to look at the map onpage 95, which shows the Tonkin Gulf Incidents and the U.S. air strikes ofAugust 5, 1964.This map has Vinh in the right place, but Hanoi has beenmislocated; it is shown as being southwest of Haipong (Hanoi is actuallynorthwest of Haiphong).More important, the map shows Hon Gai, one of thetargets of the U.S. air strikes, as being right next to the Chinese border. Hon Gai is actually well to the southwest of the location shown; if it hadbeen close to the Chinese border, Lyndon Johnson would not have approvedthe strike against it in this operation.The location shown for theaircraft carrier Constellation, which launched the planes for the strikeagainst Hon Gai, is also seriously inaccurate.

A small inset map on page95 shows the tracks of the two U.S. destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy, onthe night of August 4, 1964, and the tracks of objects that appeared ontheir radar, believed to be torpedo boats attacking them.The track shownfor the supposed torpedo boat designated V2 bears no resemblance to anytrack that shows in the records of the destroyers, and the track shown forV1 does not bear a close resemblance to any track that shows in the recordsof the destroyers.

I have not found so many errors in other maps in thisatlas, but I have found more than I liked.The one thing an atlas isabsolutely supposed to do is show things in the correct locations on themaps. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Vietnam," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Vietnam in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Vietnam when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Vietnam, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Viet-Nam," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Viet-Nam in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Viet-Nam when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Viet-Nam, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Vietnam," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Vietnam in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Vietnam when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Vietnam, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Vietnam," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Vietnam in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Vietnam when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Vietnam, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Vietnam," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Vietnam in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Vietnam when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Vietnam, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Geographical Review, published by American Geographical Society on April 1, 1996. The length of the article is 7599 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: Keywords: Doi Moi policy, Ho Chi Minh City, informal economy, petty enterprises, Vietnam.

Citation Details
Title: Doi Moi policy and the small-enterprise boom in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Author: Donald B. Freeman
Publication: The Geographical Review (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 1996
Publisher: American Geographical Society
Volume: v86Issue: n2Page: p178(20)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
A discussion of the causes, events, and aftermath of the longest and most controversial conflict in American history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

PORTRAIT OF A TRAGEDYAmerica and the Vietnam War
Our town librarian asked me to take this book home and rate it.As a Vietnam vet, she was curious for my review and reaction.I must say the book is presented in a dispassionate way, but chronicles the movement of our involvement in this far Asian country over the years, as young people need to know about.I was a helicopter pilot in the Mekong Delta, stationed at Vinh Long with the 175th Outlaws, one of the most affectionate helicopter units in-country.I am very familiar with many of the episodes and locales featured in the book.I would recommend PORTRAIT OF A TRAGEDY as an historical overview of the conflict, but it lacks the passion of the years describing all that went on--there and in the USA.It is well constructed, and for those people who cannot figure why we ever got involved in this entanglement, it could present the situation in a rational dialogue for them to think about.My book centers on the experiences of flying helicopters and the camaraderie experienced by the Army aviators in this war. ... Read more

Product Description
The private small-scale manufacturing sector has emerged as a key actor in the development of the Vietnamese economy since the launch of market-oriented reforms, but little is known about the nature and dynamics of this sector during this crucial period. Drawing upon a survey made in 1991 of some 1000 non-state manufacturing enterprises, a repeat survey in 1997 of some 400 of the same enterprises and a parallel survey in the same year of a further 500 enterprises not previously surveyed, this book addresses the lack of hard data on these developments. The result is an in-depth analysis of the development and transformation of the private manufacturing sector in Vietnam during the first decade of "doi moi". The study describes the considerable consolidation seen in this sector during the 1990s in terms of size, capital intensity and labour productivity, and in this regard it notes that this process has been accompanied by a sharp reduction in regional differences.This transformation has taken place through two parallel processes: firstly, through the appearance of new enterprises that are fundamentally different from previously established enterprises and, secondly, through a growth and transformation of the existing enterprises. Following a comprehensive analysis of the characteristics of the enterprises in 1997, these two processes are analyzed in detail, whilst the past part of the book is devoted to separate analysis of the "losers" and the "winners". ... Read more

Product Description
Vietnam is increasingly opening up to the West, and society is in flux between tradition and modernity, and socialism and capitalism. Americans have distanced themselves from the Vietnam War now, and Culture and Customs of Vietnam fills a need to learn about the country, which has also evolved. Readers will find that this is the only general book on Vietnamese culture in English written by specialists. McLeod and Nguyen, historians specializing in Vietnam engagingly show the various forces of Vietnamese culture in narrative chapters on the land, people, and language; history and institutions; thought and religion; literature; art and architecture; cuisine; family, marriage, gender, and youth culture; festivals and leisure activities, and performing arts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Rif-off
The history was fine, but the illustrations were horrible. Since the little book was $55, I assumed the inflated price was because it contained some beautiful, colored pictures. They were so dark that I couldn't even see what the picture was about. I had intended to buy the whole series, but I couldn't even see how that book went through the publisher, the quality was so inferior.

Great overview of Vietnamese history and culture.
Written by a husband and wife team, with years of experience in Vietnam and its culture, this well developed text provides a detailed look at most of the major areas of Vietnamese culture and customs. Topic areas covered include Vietnamese history, cultural impacts of war and occupation, religion, literature, architecture, food and cuisine, family culture, festivals, and the arts. I would heartily recommend this book to families who have adopted from Vietnam - AdoptVietnam.org - or for anyone who is interested in a more complete understanding of Vietnam and its people. ... Read more

Product Description
Richly informed by in-depth field and archival research, this book offers a synthetic and accessible analysis of contemporary Vietnam. After decades of war and a socialist transformation, the country has moved toward a market economy. Echoing that shift, Vietnamese society has undergone significant changes, with increasing socioeconomic disparities among regions and within localities, greater unrest both in urban and rural areas, and a revitalization of religious and folk rituals. Moving beyond the standard emphasis on the Vietnam War and Vietnamese politics and economy, this volume provides a historically grounded examination of the dynamics of contemporary society and state-society relations that will be valuable for scholars and students alike. ... Read more

Product Description
Explores the geography, history, people, and culture of Vietnam. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "The Vietnam War," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have The Vietnam War in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with The Vietnam War when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name The Vietnam War, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more