A Country, Not A War - Vietnam Impressions

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Summary: An interesting, quick read
Review: I enjoyed reading this book. Vietnam never interested me before as a vacation destination, until now. The author made it sound interesting and fun and exotic. His historic comments and quotes added to the learning experience. The author's sense of humor made it a fun read.

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Summary: One of the Best Books I've Read On Vietnam
Review: Reading "A Country, Not a War: Vietnam Impressions" is like listening to Jazz; Truman uses language like a musician uses his instrument. The words riff across each page evoking the sights, sounds and smell of Vietnam as the book weaves back and forth between modern day Vietnam and the war-torn Vietnam of 30 years ago. Truman effectively juxtapositions the country's current courtship with capitalism with its horrific, centuries old history of war and turmoil. Truman is at his best when he describes the Chu Chi Tunnel complex, the intricate underground system represents everything the U.S. didn't know about Vietnam at the time, and when he describes it's current tourist attraction, you can literally sense the difference in perception Vietnamese and Westerners have about the conflict that tore both countries asunder. This is must reading for anyone affected by the war, and for those who would like to understand how Vietnam overcame its past to become the beautiful land it was before the many wars the country has been involved. Truman, a true Texan attempting to avoid the "Ugly American" label and married to a lovely Vietnamese woman, also intersperses generous dabs of humor throughout the book as he describes his attempts to transcend cultural and historical barriers as he travels across the country.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Books I've Read On Vietnam
Review: Reading "A Country, Not a War: Vietnam Impressions" is like listening to Jazz; Truman uses language like a musician uses his instrument. The words riff across each page evoking the sights, sounds and smell of Vietnam as the book weaves back and forth between modern day Vietnam and the war-torn Vietnam of 30 years ago. Truman effectively juxtapositions the country's current courtship with capitalism with its horrific, centuries old history of war and turmoil. Truman is at his best when he describes the Chu Chi Tunnel complex, the intricate underground system represents everything the U.S. didn't know about Vietnam at the time, and when he describes it's current tourist attraction, you can literally sense the difference in perception Vietnamese and Westerners have about the conflict that tore both countries asunder. This is must reading for anyone affected by the war, and for those who would like to understand how Vietnam overcame its past to become the beautiful land it was before the many wars the country has been involved. Truman, a true Texan attempting to avoid the "Ugly American" label and married to a lovely Vietnamese woman, also intersperses generous dabs of humor throughout the book as he describes his attempts to transcend cultural and historical barriers as he travels across the country.

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Summary: The book shreds our misperceptions about Vietnam.
Review: Vietnam! For most Americans, Vietnam dredges up images of jungle fighting, tiger cages, 53,000 dead U.S. soldiers, and political turmoil. American political leaders thrust this country into a civil war without knowing anything about Vietnam's history, its people and its culture. For more than a decade, the people of the United States knew only that their brothers, husbands and fathers were fighting and dying in a tiny land 10,000 miles away. In the two decades that have passed since the last GIs left, Americans still do not know Vietnam and its people. Our images of Vietnam are shaped by the books and movies, most of which focus on the war and the political events surrounding U.S. involvement. However, the books and movies do not provide insight into the history, the culture and the lives of the Vietnamese. Even the few post-war books about Vietnam since the fall of South Vietnam in 1975 examine the political environment, with little attention paid to the Vietnamese people. "A Country, Not a War" is a journal that offers an insightful commentary regarding the people and their lives in post-war Vietnam. Author Harold Truman traveled from Ho Chi Minh City, which most Americans remember as the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, to Hanoi, the former North Vietnamese capital that now serves as capital city of the unified Vietnam. Along the way, he visited some of the places that are familiar to many Americans: My Lai, Da Nang, Phu Bai. Although he doesn't speak Vietnamese, he was accompanied by his wife, Petite, a Vietnamese lady who moved to the United States in the 1960s. With Petite acting as interpreter, the author was able to engage in conversation with the Vietnamese, including men who fought on both sides during the war. He seems surprised at the lack of antagonism toward Americans in Vietnam; he also is stunned by the level of corruption still prevalent in the country, which despite the economic reforms still is a Third World nation. The concise commentary by Mr. Truman spares no one. He makes an honest appraisal of modern Vietnam, its successes and failures, and the stupidity of the American military bureaucracy, which understood neither its enemy nor its ally in the war. But he doesn't spare himself either, using dry humor to relate his unintentional breaches of local etiquette, offending an artist, as well as Petite's elderly cousin. It is obvious in the book that as he traveled throughout Vietnam, the author developed a genuine affection for the people, knowledge of their history, and a respect for their culture. "A Country, Not a War: Vietnam Impressions" is not ambitious; it isn't intended to be THE book about Vietnam. Still, it is unique. It achieves the author's goal superbly: It relates the impressions of one American about a small country that has become part of our collective psyche. For Mr. Truman, as well as for most Americans, the word "Vietnam" does produce a strong emotional reaction. Thanks to this book, we can begin to shed our long-held misperceptions of that land and its gentle people.