Friday, January 25, 2008

War Comes to Long An: Revolutionary Conflict in a Vietnamese Province by Jeffrey Race

War Comes to Long An: Revolutionary Conflict in a Vietnamese Province by Jeffrey Race. This is a history of the communist takeover of a Vietnamese province. The book can be divided into two parts. The first of these is a history of the loss of government control. This is based on interviews with South Vietnamese officials as well as analysis of US reports. This is superb and is necessary reading for anyone interested in Vietnam.

The second part attempts to build a theoretical framework out of the material. This section is less convincing. Race grumbles about the South Vietnamese lacking ideology however they did attempt one during 61-63 it was an effective. He also seems to be trying a little too hard to be an iconoclastic commentator. That being said well worth the cost for the history section alone.

Highly recommended!

No comments: