Rating: 
Summary: A powerful evocative book
Review: David Lamb's " Vietnam Now" is a brilliantly evocative book on life in Vietnam in the late 1990's. It captures eloquently the way Vietnamese have come to terms with their past. It brings to life the spirit, the courage and the generosity of spirit and the gentleness of the people. What David is able to do through
his superbly crafted vignettes of modern day life is to humanize a people and a country too often dismissed as a war.He is able to blend the past history of the country and its impacts on the present by tracing them through the lives of fascinating people?Trinh Thi Ngo or `Hanoi Hannah, Pham Xuan An, the Time reporters whose cover as a Viet Cong colonel was blown only in 1978, General Giap who now leads a quiet life in a villa in Hanoi after a lifetime of war..... David writes for the first time of the "Vietnam's wandering tribe of mourners"- thousands of mothers and fathers, wives and brothers and sisters who spent their time searching out witnesses, digging up marked graves- all desperate for clues that would help them locate the remains of loved ones. And the Vietnamese MIA number over 300,000..... As David points out Americans became " so self-obsessed with our pain that we never thought much about theirs? a stunning statistic : one out of every ten Vietnamese was killed or wounded in war". He seeks to set the balance right. .......
This book is a combined history lesson, guidebook and a reflection on modern day life in Vietnam. It brings to life a country not only its history and its culture but even more importantly its life and soul.............recommended to all seeking to understand a country and how it is able to overcome insuperable odds and yet survive with its soul intact.
Rating:
Summary: Balanced if Sentimental View of Modern Vietnam
Review: David Lamb's "Vietnam, Now" provides a balanced perspective on modern Vietnam. Lamb first worked as a UPI reporter in South Vietnam in 1968. He returned in 1997 as a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and lived in Hanoi with his wife for four years. Other recent books about modern Vietnam (such as Robert Templer's "Shadows and Wind" and Henry Kamm's "Dragon Ascending") seem to put a negative spin on everything in Vietnam. However, in "Vietnam, Now" David Lamb chooses to take a more realistic and slightly optimistic view. In his stories of life in Vietnam, he acknowledges the poverty of the people and corruption and stubbornness of the ruling old guard. However, he puts things in perspective. As is the case in most books on Vietnam, a lot of stories are related to the American War: US veterans return to Vietnam for closure; North Vietnam war memorials are in good shape and the South Vietnam war memorials aren't; one son fought in the north and one in the south. It's easy to see why some people have written negative reviews about this book. Some persons who have sacrificed and lost much in this country cannot acknowledge that anything good can exist in Vietnam while the communists are in charge. Still, I recommend this book as a balanced perspective of modern Vietnam. If you do want another opinion of the country, I recommend Templer's "Shadows and Wind." Or, better yet, read both these books and then visit Vietnam the country and judge for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: A tad more "Then" than "Now"
Review: For anyone trying to ford the quagmire of myth and fact that surrounds the Vietnam conflict, this book is a necessary buoy. Mr. Lamb-whose current coverage of Vietnam for the Los Angeles Times is superb, though it is often soft-gives a voice and character to post-1975 Vietnam that has been significantly lacking in American literature. He discusses the war, Vietnam-American politics and the ruling Communist party with Vietnamese veterans and the younger generation as well. These conversations reveal a view of the war that contrasts entirely with the American view; as Mr. Lamb writes, the Vietnamese do not mourn the war as Americans do. Instead, they see it as proof of their national pride and perseverance. Nevertheless, Mr. Lamb provides disturbing detail of how the war tore apart the physical and social fabric of Vietnam, and how politics and old weapons still wreak their havoc today. Though brilliant, this book deals a lot with the war, both as a history of past days and the lingering effects. Mr. Lamb does go into detail about Vietnam's growing presence on the world market, burgening political reform and the somewhat restless and idealistic views of the country's youth. Yet, these themes, much like the whole of Mr. Lamb's book, always revert back to the war, as it was then and is today, so that nary a chapter is free from its mention. Thus, Mr. Lamb shows that even Americans who try to get over that bloody period can't.
Rating:
Summary: Valuable Insight
Review: Good book except from an non-American perspective, I have 2 points to make here:
1. The Author criticises the Vietnamese for the way they neglect the ARVN cemetaries and suggests they should be as respected as the NLF / NVA dead. To me that's like saying dead NAZI's graves in France or Japanese graves in Asian countries should be given the same respect. Very insensitive and not appropriate.
2. He harps on constantly about "multi party democracy" and writes about ex Sec. State Allbright lecturing and wagging her finger at the head of the Communist party, Le Kha Phieu, asking when will Vietnam become democratic. Mr Phieu simply ends the meeting.
Fair enough.
Since when has America had "multi party" democracy? If multi means more 2 ? then America in fact does not have multi party democracy at all - it has 2 parties and in fact is more like a "Duopoly"!
What gives you arrogant Americans the right to lecture anyone or any country about democracy? Only your self righteousness and ignorance. But just as in Vietnam, the world is tiring of the bully America, and perhaps Iraq will finally help lead to the inevitable fall of the American empire. And the world will breathe a sigh of relief!
You won't face what you did in Vietnam, and what you haven't done to heal the wounds of war - Agent Orange, Unexploded Bombs, and so on.
When you face the ugly truth of the American war in Vietnam - an illegal and immoral war crime - and start to do something about, then perhaps you make peace with Vietnam. This book is a good start, but look for a non American view for balance.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed.
Review: I bought this book with high expectation after having seen it mentioned on the PBS station. What I have found is disconcerting. The author mentions the northern farmers built "substantial homes of cement and brick designed to last a life time." Is it really true? I have been told they are still poor with a yearly income of less than $US300 and can barely make ends meet. I wonder how they could build substantial homes under these circumstances. He is only aware of 40 reeducation camps set up to intern 400,000 southerners after the war: this makes 10,000 inmates per camp. The literature reports more than 1,000 camps holding an excess of one million inmates at one time. One Hanoi official even puts the number at two and a half millions. If the southerners have "no longer to fear their government as long as they aren't interested in making any political statement", 1) they must have lived in fear of the Hanoi regime since 1975 and 2) they still do not enjoy political freedom and the freedom of speech. The statement also implies elections in today communist Vietnam are not free. He also mentions about the South Vietnamese burning Pleiku to the ground in March 1975. This is a far cry from the truth. How could they have time to burn the town down when they were trying to escape from the communists who were pursuing them? To alert them they were getting out of town? The author thinks propaganda does not have a "negative connotation" in Vietnam because "people are too ignorant to decide for themselves the merits of an issue." I take this as an insult to the Vietnamese in general. The people certainly are not ignorant, but simply fearful of the Hanoi regime: as mentioned above, they are not free to make any political statement without being harassed by the regime. And the list of "misstatements" goes on and on. It is fair to assume the author either repeats verbatim what the communists had told him or he has been thoroughly brainwashed by them during his five-year stay in Hanoi. Anyway, this is not good reporting and I, therefore, cannot recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: The realities of Vietnam as it is today
Review: I don't think there's any American who can hear the word "Vietnam" and not have feelings about the awful conflict that divided a nation and ushered in a new way of looking at war. However, most of these recollections go back thirty years. It's different now. And that is the theme of this book by journalist David Lamb, who covered the Vietnam War as a young reporter in the late 1960s. Then, in 1997, the Los Angeles Times sent him to Hanoi for four years. This book is a result of his observations. One of his remarkable discoveries is that in spite of the war, the Vietnamese people like Americans and he was treated well wherever he went. Vietnam is now Communist, but it is not the same communism that was typical of the cold war and the Soviet Union. Through the years, the hard line has softened, small businesses are thriving and the standard of living has improved. And the younger generation finds it is not necessary to join the Communist party in order to get into school or get a job, which was formerly the case. The history of Vietnam is long and sad. Mostly, they were conquered by one country after another. When the French moved out, the Americans moved in to South Vietnam. They were trying to protect it from Communism but the people in the North really loved their leader and wanted to unify the country. The war was bitter and more than one out of every ten Vietnamese died. Then, after the War, the South Vietnamese were treated badly. They were sent to re-education camps for years and even when they came out, they could no longer get jobs. There are interviews with South Vietnamese in the book and they have somehow reconciled themselves to this. It is the younger generation who have the opportunities. In the North, the people who fought are treated better. The cemeteries are well kept and widows and mothers get a pension. This is not true in the South. Former North Vietnamese soldiers talked to the author about the will of the people to endure in order to win. They are proud of the fact that they won and unified their country. The younger generation of Vietnamese who fled after the war are coming back. They have been educated in Australia or America, are taller and heavier their Vietnamese relatives, and speak English better than they do Vietnamese. Life is hard for them in Vietnam and they have to adjust to constantly changing laws and a communist government, but they are starting new businesses and beginning to flourish. This is an easy book to read. The interviews are short and connected in a way that illustrates the realities of what Vietnam is today. It is also Mr. Lamb's own story. And that of some American Vietnam veterans who are now traveling back to this place which holds so many memories. I've read several books about Vietnam. Mostly, they were about the War. But this one brought me right up to date. Definitely recommended.
Rating:
Summary: I love this book!
Review: I had the good fortune to be able to visit Vietnam for three weeks recently. Mr. Lamb was able to give me a far greater understanding of what I experienced there. The book is very personal and heartfelt , but also seems to be well balanced in providing a historical perspective. Mr. Lamb did a great job of capturing the spirit of the Vietnamese people and their history. For anyone interested in going there, I heartily recommend this book. A wonderful read!
Rating:
Summary: An accurate portrayal of modern Vietnam.
Review: I read this book as a primer before coming to Vietnam and I'm currently traveling through Vietnam in 2005 for three months. I find the book to be quite accurate. One reviewer made the following comment "If I didn't know better, I'd have thought Vietnam was heaven on earth after reading this book!" I think you'd find if you visited Vietnam as a tourist destination it is quite close to being paradise in many places. Contemporary Vietnam is a fabulous place to visit. The cities are modern and clean with beautiful old European style architecture, businesses appear to be flourishing more than neighboring Southeast Asian countries. Places like Dalat, Hoi An, Mui Ne, Hanoi rival the most beautiful tourist cities in The U.S. People are very friendly and are quite happy to have American visitors.I've personally never been treated badly for being an American while in Vietnam. I also agree with the authors statement that there appears to be few dissidents in Vietnam and most voice that they are quite proud of their country. Ho Chi Minh as well as the Vietcong are revered by most as a great Vietnamese patriots. Ask Americans if we should allow Pornography on Television or should abolish all traffic regulations and most would say no. In the same way we view these social restrictions as for the common good Vietnamese consider topics like censorship of the media as something that's done for the common good.
Rating:
Summary: back to vietnam
Review: I think this book was really good. In this book Mr. Lamb showed the other side of the story about Vietnam. He showed what they think about the whole war, and what they think about American people. By Mr. Lamb's words, the book showed that Hanoi is a beautiful city in Vietnam, and that Vietnamese people are not mad at Americans for what happend, they say that they are people just like us. I do recommend this book, because it's nice to know what the other side thinks about the war.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent look at present day Viet Nam
Review: I visited Vietnam with my wife in 1999 to adopt a daughter, and my wife visited there again last year to adopt our second daughter. Lamb's book accurately reflects most of what I have learned about Vietnam, including the amazing Vietnamese people, and the seeming disconnect between their daily lives and their government. I can't guarantee that every word is accurate; it is a complex country that is changing is many ways. But I do think you will learn more about Viet Nam from this book than from any other I have read. And it will prepare you well for the visit I hope you make someday.
| 
