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Summary: After the war was over ...
Review: After the Vietnamese communists took South Vietnam by force in April 1975, Vietnam seemed to disappear from the American television screen and nobody seemed to care about that really happened under the new regime in the south.Now, Trinh Do, through a personal account, has presented a clear picture of what happened during the darkest years of Vietnam under communist rule, from re-education camps, i.e., concentration camps for South Vietnamese soldiers and government officials, new conomic zones (NEZs) in jungle areas where southerners are banished to make room for northern cadres coming south, commerce reform campaigns which confiscate merchants' and businessmen's properties and assets and divided them among communist party members and government cadres. Regardless of euphemistic propaganda from Hanoi, South Vietnam has been under brutal occupation by the communist North, even to this day! Most of what Trinh recounts was known bits and pieces from boat people refugees of 1970s and 1980s but an an account from an 11-year-old boy has certain innocent and truthful appeal. Thanks to accounts like Trinh's, those people in the U.S. and the West who were blind defenders or apologists of the communist regime in Hanoi can no longer whitewash this miserable period of Vietnam's history. Trinh's book helps reveal the evil nature of communism through its inhumane and deceptive policies which render Vietnam nothing more than an "Animal Farm": a person is so bone-tired at the end of the day that he/she just wishes to have some rest to continue the servitude the next day! And at the first opportunity, they did not hesitate to leave which brings back the sad fact that hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese perished at sea or in jungles to search for freedom ... including Trinh's parents! If you have not lived under communist rule, you can't believe how cruel men could be; if you have, Trinh's story is all too familiar!
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Summary: Reality Documented
Review: Did you ever wonder what happened to the people who were left behind when the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam? Many books have documented the corruption at high levels in South Vietnam's government, but what about all of the innocents-farmers or people who had fled North Vietnam in 1954 when the Communists took over. Trinh Do's memoir "Saigon to San Diego" answers this question through telling his story, the story of an eleven year old boy suddenly having to play a man's role in his family as South Vietnam surrendered to the Communist party.
Do is remarkably open and aware about his emotions as he tells his tale. This adds a richness to the book that makes it a fast and captivating read. His story is full of enormous personal challenge, love, sadness, anger, frustration and joy. The story is suspenseful and fast-moving. What a remarkeable person to face all of these challenges as such a young person in so short a period of time!
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Summary: Triumph of the spirit
Review: I just finished reading Trinh Do's incredible tale of his life in the years after the fall of South Vietnam. It is a captivating, poignant read interspersed with moments of laugh-out-loud humor. Besides giving a candid account of life under communist rule and the insidious infiltration of propaganda into every aspect of society, Trinh Do's book is also an account of a Vietnamese adolescence replete with dreams, friends,and first love; albeit in a background of utter tragedy.
It is truly amazing that Do can write his memoir with such smooth and flowing prose, as the story is one that can bring out strong emotion in the reader. I have read many memoirs of survival in desperate circumstances-Nyiszli's Auschwitz and Ung's First They Killed My Father come quickly to mind. Do's book ranks at the top of my list.
I will keep a copy to give to my daughter for the time when she is old enough to read it and understand.
Rating: 
Summary: An inspiring page-turner.
Review: Trinh Do and his wife are the parents of one of my daughter's classmates. It was amazing to know these people and then to read the story of what Trinh Do survived. I remember the boat-people stories as meaningless news clips when I was a child, but this book has made the faces of all those people real to me. This story inspired me. It was absorbing, suspenseful, and well-written.
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Summary: Poignant and Soulful
Review: Trinh Do's "Saigon to San Diego" is the Vietnamese version of the "Diary of Anne Frank". The war is seen through the eyes of an innocent 11 years old. He takes us on a personal journey as we witness the last day of Vietnam and the days of "re-indoctrination" that followed. But more importantly, he delivers us a message of hope in the human spirit. The book is poignant because it gives us a glimpse of life under communism. This book is soulful because it is inspiring - by reminding us that people can take away our possession and our freedom, but they cannot take away our spirit if we don't let them. I've read LeLy Hayslip's "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places" and Kien Nguyen's "Unwanted" and thought they were well written, though a bit disturbing because of their depictions of Vietnamese as prostitutes and beggars. Trinh Do's writing is fresh and surprisingly uplifting because he showed that Vietnamese can be noble with an indomitable spirit instead of being portrayed as victims. His writing style is candid and disarmingly open. Don't read this book if you don't want to cry or laugh. It is full of emotions and will carry you away. Definitely on my list of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books.
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Summary: Comunist Reality 101
Review: Trinh Do's account of daily life after the war is a shocking eye opener for those who are blessed enough not to have live under communist rule. A story of pain, hardship and the will to survive at all cost. The eternal love and sacrifices parents give to their children. A must read for all the ages.
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Summary: Humiliation to Human Spirit
Review: What an inspiring story! Such an example of the enduring human spirit. Trinh Do presented the ugly, true nature of the victors of war. This can be said of any war, anywhere in the world, at any time in human history. The prolonged suffering of the defeated and the innocents of the Vietnam war was captured honestly and vividly. Yet in the midst of this tragedy, we find a message of love and hope. The love of family, and the desperate hope of parents for their children.
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