Adventures and Encounters, Europeans in Southeast Asia  •  J.M. Gullick ANTHOLOGY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES This anthology offers a diverse selection of European accounts of Southeast Asia. The writers range from 16th century explorers and mariners to 19th century naturalists and modern literary travelers. Complemented by engravings and archival photographs. (INS20, $49.50)
The Age of Wild Ghosts: Memory, Violence, and Place in Southwest China  •  Erik Mueggler CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2001 •  PAPER  • 361 PAGES A groundbreaking ethnography of the Yi, 7 million of whom live in China's Yunnan province. It's also an illuminating study of the wages of communism on China's minority peoples. "The age of wild ghosts" is how, in popular parlance, the Yi refer to the last 40-odd years, from the Great Leap Forward of 1958 (and the resultant famine) to the present day. The author, a professor of anthropology, focuses his discussion on the Yi's collective sense of loss, guilt and sadness. (CHN168, $25.95)
America's Lost War: Vietnam, 1945-1975  •  Charles E. Neu HISTORY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES A history of the Vietnam War based on the popular course by recently retired Brown University professor of American foreign relations Charles E. Neu. (VNM69, $21.95)
An American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War that Came Between Us  •  James Carroll BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1997 •  PAPER  • 279 PAGES Winner of the National Book Award, this is the tragic story of an American family whose beliefs and familial bonds are shattered by the raging Vietnam war. Novelist Carroll recounts growing up under the auspicious shadow of his father, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency throughout most of the war. Carroll's decision to become a priest thrills his father, but when he sides with the liberal Catholics and draft resisters, his family relationships are jeopardized. (VNM38, $15.00)
Angkor and the Khmer Civilization  •  Michael Coe CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2005 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES A concise, illustrated survey of the society, culture and monuments of the Khmer civilization. An interesting footnote to Coe's many investigations and books on the Maya. With 130 well-integrated engravings, maps, tables, site plans and photographs, 22 in color. (CBD39, $22.50)
Angkor, Celestial Temples of the Khmer Empire  •  Joe Ortner  •  Ian Mabbett  •  John Sanday ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 288 PAGES A striking collection of 240 photographs with accompanying essays on the architecture, history and meaning of Angkor. Handsomely produced and packaged in a slip case by the art publisher Abbeville. Joe Ortner (Where Every Breath is a Prayer) photographed 50 monuments of the Khmer Empire, including rooftop views, landscapes, and details of inscriptions and art. John Sanday, Director of the World Monuments Fund in Cambodia since 1989, Ian Mabbett, an authority on the Khmer empire and others contribute the context for the photographs. With black-and-white floor plans and antique watercolor illustrations. (CBD31, $95.00)
Apocalypse Now, The Complete Dossier  •  Francis Ford Coppola 2006 •  DVD In Coppola's classic adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, a battle weary captain is sent on a top secret mission to "terminate the command" of renegade Colonel Kurz in the jungles of Cambodia. This new two-disc collector's edition features both the original 1979 version and the 2001 "redux" version, as well as commentary by Coppola, never-before-seen footage and several documentaries on the making of the movie. (CBD51, $19.99)
Argument Without End, In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy  •  Robert S. McNamara HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 512 PAGES The result of a series of meetings with North Vietnamese leaders from 1995-1998, this book with analysis and introductions by McNamara, draws on transcripts and recently declassified documents. (VNM75, $17.00)
The Arts of China  •  Michael Sullivan ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 322 PAGES A comprehensive survey of Chinese visual arts -- and culture -- through the ages. It's a lively overview, thoroughly illustrated and accessible, covering bronzes, lacquer, ceramics, painting and architecture, from the Neolithic to the modern. With 380 illustrations, half in color. This is the fourth edition of Sullivan's popular textbook, equally appropriate for the serious traveler or general reader. (CHN16, $41.95)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress  •  Sijie Dai  •  Ina Rilke LITERATURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 208 PAGES A charming, unexpectedly witty, tale of two teenage boys in China sent off to the countryside during Mao's Cultural Revolution. This slim novel celebrates the power of stories and literature and the imagination. (CHN159, $12.95)
Beneath Buddha's Eyes  •  Tony Anthony LITERATURE •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 296 PAGES In this compelling second novel, a love story set in the midst of war, reporter Peter Hill tells of his affair with a colleague in Vietnam, clandestine missions, corruption and making your way during the chaos and horror of the war. The author Tony Anthony was drafted into the Army and assigned to the infantry as a Combat Correspondent in Vietnam. (VNM52, $25.00)
Angkor Cities and Temples  •  Claude Jacques  •  Michael Freeman ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 319 PAGES An oversize, gorgeously illustrated portrait of the monuments, temples and exquisite sculpture of Angkor. With 360 color photographs, 15 temple plans and five maps. Claude Jacques, who directed much of the excavation at the site, writes with authority about individual temples, inscriptions and the Khmer culture that produced Angkor. (CBD18, $80.00)
Bradt Guide Yunnan Province  •  Martin Walters  •  Stephen Mansfield GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES A compact, practical guide to Yunnan for the traveler with detailed sketch maps, a few color photographs and excellent information on where to go and what to do. (CHN73, $23.95)
A Bright Shining Lie, John Paul Vann and the Americans in Vietnam  •  Neil Sheehan HISTORY •  1989 •  PAPER  • 861 PAGES A political history of the war as seen through the story of one of its soldiers, this prize-winning book is a hard-hitting expose on the failure of American foreign policy in Southeast Asia. (VNM27, $18.95)
Brother Number One, A Political Biography of Pol Pot  •  David Chandler BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1999 •  PAPER  • 264 PAGES The definitive history of the Pol Pot era by the author of the History of Cambodia. (CBD23, $32.00)
Buddhist Art and Architecture  •  Robert Fisher ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1993 •  PAPER  • 216 PAGES A wide-ranging, illustrated survey of Buddhist art, architecture and iconography in the excellent World of Art series. It includes examples from throughout Asia. (ASA30, $18.95)
The Buddhist Handbook  •  John Snelling RELIGION •  1992 •  PAPER  • 345 PAGES Subtitled, "The Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice and History, " this even-handed book is a concise primer covering the history, philosophical foundation and practice of Buddhism. It gives a basic overview of the teachings and practice of Buddhism, including a who's who of contemporary teachers and list of useful addresses around the world. (ASA08, $16.95)
Cambodia  •  Michael Freeman CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2004 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES A political and cultural history of Cambodia by writer, photographer and keen observer Michael Freeman. (CBD40, $25.00)
Cambodia and Laos Map  •  ITMB 2003 •  MAP A full color map of Laos and Cambodia for the traveler at a scale of 1:800,000. With an index, and small inset maps of central Phnom Penh and Vientiane. (LAO07, $11.95)
Cambodia Map  •  Gecko Maps 2005 •  MAP A full color map of Cambodia for the traveler at a scale of 1:750,000. With useful inset city and area maps of Phnom Penh, Angkor, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville with restaurants, hotels and attractions. (CBD17, $15.95)
Cambodia Now, Life in the Wake of War  •  Karen Coates CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2005 •  PAPER  • 382 PAGES A scholarly account of the lives of modern Cambodian citizens of all walks of life, from beggars to royalty, told through personal interviews and color photographs. Coates examines how the scars of the viscous Khmer Rouge regime and the subsequent twenty years of civil war still affect the region today. (CBD50, $39.95)
Cambodia's New Deal  •  William Shawcross HISTORY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 106 PAGES (CBD14, $9.95)
Cambodia, A Shattered Society  •  Mark W. Mcleod  •  Marie Martin HISTORY •  1994 •  HARD COVER  • 383 PAGES A political and cultural history of post-Pol Pot Cambodia for a scholarly audience. (CBD22, $65.00)
Cambodian Culture Since 1975  •  May Ebihara HISTORY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 194 PAGES A scholary collection of articles on Cambodian culture since the violence of Pol Pot's regime in the 1970s. (CBD21, $22.95)
The Cat from Hue, A Vietnam Story  •  John Laurence BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  PAPER  • 864 PAGES Journalist John Laurence's detailed and haunting account of Vietnam War combines his first hand experiences as a correspondent with a historical overview of the war. The cat in the title is Meo, a Vietnamese stray he adopted along the way. (VNM67, $20.00)
Catfish and Mandala, A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam  •  Andrew X. Pham BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  PAPER  • 344 PAGES Much more than a road trip, this book combines the author's family history with his many and often-gritty adventures by bicycle through foreign lands (including Mexico, Japan and, notably, Vietnam). In addition, he reveals much about himself and his family, transplanted from Vietnam to the United States in 1967. Winner of the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize. (VNM50, $15.00)
CDC's Complete Guide to Health Travel  •  Kent C. Davis 1997 •  PAPER  • 432 PAGES (TRV01, $14.95)
Child of War, Woman of Peace  •  Le Ly Hayslip LITERATURE •  1993 •  PAPER  • 388 PAGES Further memoirs from the author of "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places." (VNM78, $19.00)
Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields: Memoirs by Survivors  •  Dith Pran  •  Ben Kiernan  •  Kim DePaul BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1999 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES A series of eyewitness testimonies of the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s. Dith Pran, the photojournalist whose story was told in the film The Killing Fields, compiled 29 accounts, all told by people who were children during Khmer Rouge's reign of terror. (CBD33, $18.00)
China Map  •  International Travel Maps 2006 •  MAP A fine, double-sided map of China, at a useful scale of 1:3,800,000, featuring colorful shaded relief, indexed with an inset map of central Beijing. Fifth edition. It also shows parts of Korea, Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and Burma. (CHN06, $11.95)
Chinese Art  •  Mary Tregear ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 216 PAGES A quick, but surprisingly thorough survey of Chinese art, including calligraphy and painting, sculpture and ceramics, as well as garden design, architecture, and various crafts. Part of the "World of Art" series, it is illustrated throughout. (CHN153, $18.95)
The Chinese Kitchen  •  Eileen Yin-Fei Lo FOOD •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 452 PAGES An authoritative and delightful book about food and cultural practices in a very food-oriented culture. "Have you eaten yet?" the Chinese traditionally ask each other when they meet by chance in the street, and here Eileen Yin-Fei Lo has written a cookbook which doubles as an introduction to China itself. It's a compendium not only of recipes (of which there are hundreds, all authentic, all clearly explained), but also of lessons in Chinese history, folkloric tales, and reminiscences of the author's childhood in Guangdong province, where she learned to cook at her grandmother's side. With chapters on Chinese tea and how to stock a Chinese pantry, plus a recipe for the 28-ingredient feast dish known as "Buddha Jump over the Wall", this is a book -- in English! -- that any Chinese cook would want. (CHN134, $39.95)
Chinese Rugs: A Buyer's Guide  •  Lee Allane GUIDEBOOK •  1994 •  PAPER  • 144 PAGES A guide to the history, techniques and variety of carpets produced throughout China, including typical motifs and materials. It features a practical guide to price and quality for the prospective buyer. (CHN30, $15.95)
The Civilization of Angkor  •  Charles Higham HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 207 PAGES A concise history of the origins, development and rise of the kingdom of Angkor by a leading Southeast Asia archaeologist. It's an up-to-date, accessible overview of the civilization from prehistory through the fall of Angkor in 1431. With 28 black-and-white photographs and a series of 9 maps showing development in the region. (CBD26, $21.95)
Close Quarters  •  Larry Heinemann BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2006 •  AUDIO CD (VNM94, $26.95)
Consuming Urban Culture in Contemporary Vietnam  •  Mandy Thomas  •  Lisa Drummond CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 227 PAGES In this scholarly collection of essays, diverse contributors -- many Vietnamese -- examine everyday life and popular culture in contemporary Vietnam. The editors, who provide a historical background for current developments, include contributions on television, dance, political cartoons movies, short fiction and social issues. (VNM65, $190.00)
A Cook's Tour, Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines  •  Anthony Bourdain FOOD •  2002 •  PAPER  • 274 PAGES In this deliciously funny book, Bourdain eats his way around the globe on a quest for the perfect (or prefectly odd) meal. From fried Mars Bars in Glasgow to cobra hearts in Cambodia, there's nowhere this wise-cracking chef won't go and nothing he won't try. (TVL90, $14.95)
The Country of Memory, Remaking the Past in Late Socialist Vietnam  •  Hue-Tam Ho Tai HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 284 PAGES A collection of essays by diverse authors on modern Vietnamese culture and society. (VNM60, $22.95)
Culture Shock! Laos  •  Stephen Mansfield GUIDEBOOK •  1997 •  PAPER  • 211 PAGES A practical guide to Laotian customs, etiquette and culture, perfect for the business traveler, casual visitor or resident. (LAO13, $13.95)
Culture Smart! Vietnam  •  Geoffrey Murray GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 168 PAGES A concise, well-illustrated and practical guide to local customs, etiquette and culture. (VNM87, $9.95)
Culture, Ritual and Revolution in Vietnam  •  Shaun Kingsley Malarney HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES This is a recently published monograph by an associate professor of cultural anthropology at International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan, who has written on a variety of topics including transformations of wedding and funeral practices, local politics, commerce and entrepreneurship. Based on both field work in northern Vietnam and archival materials, the study looks at the impact of the revolutionary campaign to transform Vietnamese society. A volume in the Univeristy of Hawaii Press Anthropology in Asia series. (VNM61, $49.00)
Distant Road: Selected Poems of Nguyen Duy  •  Nguyen Duy  •  Kevin Bowen  •  Ba Chung Nguyen LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 257 PAGES A selection of poems, including those about the Vietnamese War. Born in Thanh Hoa in 1948, Duy served with distinction in the North Vietnamese Army. (VNM76, $15.95)
Earth and Water, Encounters in Vietnam  •  Edith Shillue BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1997 •  PAPER  • 234 PAGES A meditative account of experiences and encounters in Vietnam as a teacher and traveler in the 1990s. IN this lovely memoir, Shillue, an English professor, reflects on the people, culture and history of the country, interweaving her time living with a family and teaching in Saigon with her travels to Nam Ha Province (where she taught in a village school) and journeys throughout the country. (VNM79, $24.95)
The Ends of the Earth, A Journey to the Frontiers of Anarchy  •  Robert D. Kaplan TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 476 PAGES Kaplan, a veteran foreign correspondent and wonderful writer, journeys though much of the third world in this far-ranging, insightful report on sociopolitics, the future and other big topics. Organized geographically, he hops from West Africa to the Nile, Balkans, Central Asia, China and Southeast Asia. Two large sections are devoted to Iran and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. (WLD26, $16.00)
The Ethnography of Vietnam's Central Highlanders: A Historical Contextualization, 1850-1990  •  Oscar Salemink HISTORY •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 368 PAGES In this scholarly monography Salemink examines representation of the Montagnards since 1850, tracing changes in ethnography over a key period. Salemink, an anthropologist who collected oral histories in the Central Highlands for this study, is program officer for social sciences and humanities at the Ford Foundation in Hanoi. A volume in the University of Hawaii Press Anthropology of Asia series. (VNM64, $50.00)
The Explorer's Garden, Rare and Unusual Perennials  •  Daniel Hinkley  •  Roy Lancaster NATURAL HISTORY •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 380 PAGES Legendary proprietor of Heronwood Nursery in the Pacific Northwest, author of its willfully eccentric catalogue and renowned plant-explorer, Daniel Hinkley introduces some of his remarkable finds in the Himalayas, Yunnan and other exotic locations around the world in this handsomely produced tour of his nursery and garden. With 250 color photographs and an introduction by fellow plant-explorer Roy Lancaster. (NAT28, $39.95)
Fields of Fire  •  James Webb LITERATURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 360 PAGES The first novel from former marine and Vietnam vet James Webb, a harrowing story of a platoon deep in the Vietnamese jungle. First published in 1978, it remains one of the most realistic and challenging novels on the war. (VNM68, $18.95)
Fodor's Bangkok's 25 Best  •  Sylvie Franquet  •  Anthony Sattin GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 96 PAGES This slim guide to Bangkok includes an excellent pullout map of the center of the city along with essential information on its highlights, including restaurant recommendations and sightseeing. (TLD40, $11.95)
Fodor's Exploring China  •  Christopher Knowles GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES This excellent series has done it again with a stylish guidebook laced with maps and color photos that brings to life old and contemporary China. With separate sections on suggested places to visit, recommended walks, practical information including travel facts, the basics of communications, climate, money, electricity, photography, and transportation, descriptions of restaurants and hotels, ratings of sights, a language guide with Chinese phrases and numbers, a chronology of dynasties and historic events, even a small section on traditional arts and crafts, and chapters on the Silk Road, Beijing, and Xi'an, this is a complete and handy reference for any trip to China. (CHN25, $22.00)
Fodor's See It Vietnam  •  Fodor's GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER A compact, well-illustrated of Vietnam and its attractions. With good information on what to see and where to eat, sleep, and shop. (VNM84, $23.95)
The Fog of War  •  Robert S. McNamara  •  Errol Morris HISTORY •  2004 •  DVD Morris keeps a tight focus on the haunted and candid Secretary of Defense in this riveting documentary about the U.S. in Vietnam. The 95-minute film won an Oscar in 2003 for best documentary. Subtitled Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, the film is cleverly structured. (VNM83, $14.94)
Footprint Laos Handbook  •  Jack O'Tailan GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 344 PAGES A sturdy practical guide in the British Footprint series, featuring in-depth practical information, 42 sketch maps and an overview of history and culture. (LAO10, $23.95)
A Fortune-Teller Told Me, Earthbound Travels in the Far East  •  Tizanio Terzani TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 371 PAGES Grounded for a year, the peripatetic journalist (Italian-born, writing in German, and based in India) sets off by any other means to complete his rounds through Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, Mongolia, China, Japan and other far-flung destinations. The result is this warm, anecdotal account of the character of the region. It's got to be the book most recommended to us on contemporary Asia. (SEA35, $14.95)
Fragments of the Present, Searching for Modernity in Vietnam's South  •  Philip Taylor HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 237 PAGES In this wide-ranging anthropological study, based on a field work in a Mekong delta village, Taylor looks at southern Vietnam's postwar history, economic and social change and the contrast between urban and rural life. (VNM62, $32.00)
Full Metal Jacket  •  Stanley Kubrick 2004 •  DVD Kubrick follows a young marine from boot camp to the 1968 Tet Offensive in this two-segment Vietnam epic. (VNM97, $19.96)
The Gate  •  Francois Bizot BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2004 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES In this chilling account Bizot, a French ethnologist married to a Khmer woman, tells of his remarkable, terrifying years during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. Bizot is the only Westerner imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge to have been released alive. (SEA48, $14.00)
Giant Pandas in the Wild, Saving an Endangered Species  •  Lu Zhi NATURAL HISTORY •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 128 PAGES In this important new book, Dr. Lu Zhi offers an indepth portrait of the giant panda and international conservation efforts to protect the panda and its habitat in China. A researcher since 1985 and former coordinator of WWF's panda program in China, Dr. Zhi chronicles the social lives and population dynamics of 20 individuals in a number of reserves, both in text and photographs. With a foreword by Claude Martin, Director General of WWF-International, and excellent color photos by George Schaller and Lu Zhi. (CHN173, $35.00)
The Gods Drink Whiskey, Stumbling Toward Enlightenment in the Land of the Tattered Buddha  •  Stephen T. Asma TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES Asma, a university professor and a Buddhist, writes with verve and humor of his stint teaching at the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh. The book is both an introduction to Theravada Buddhism and a portrait of contemporary Cambodia. He confesses in his preface quite pointedly that it is his mission to take "California" out of Buddhism and his earthy account of his (mis)adventures is refreshingly free of cant and high-minded prattle. He is also acutely aware of his position as a western scholar in a Buddhist country (albeit one where Buddhism was outlawed by the repugnant Khmer Rouge). (CBD46, $14.95)
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain  •  Robert Olen Butler ANTHOLOGY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 249 PAGES Winner of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize, this collection of 15 short stories -- each told from a different point of view -- captures the spirit of Vietnam. American and Asian perspectives are juxtaposed in these stories, which jump back and forth from wartime Vietnam to rural Louisiana. (VNM21, $13.00)
The Green Berets  •  Ray Kellogg  •  John Wayne 2004 •  DVD A grizzled army colonel assembles a team of elite Green Berets in South Vietnam to capture a Viet Cong general in this gung-ho thriller starring John Wayne. (VNM99, $12.97)
A Guide to Khmer Temples in Thailand and Laos  •  Michael Freeman GUIDEBOOK •  1998 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES • COMING IN A compact guide to Khmer temples throughout the region, both famous and little-visited, featuring color photography, maps, temple plans and diagrams. It includes many remarkable sites near the border with Cambodia that are open to the public for the first time. (TLD20, $19.95)
Heaven and Earth  •  Oliver Stone 2006 •  DVD Oliver Stone's film of a young Vietnamese villager who marries a U.S. marine after the war, based on the memoir by Le Ly Hayslip (When Heaven and Earth Changed Places). (VNM100, $19.97)
Hindu Art  •  T. Richard Blurton ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1993 •  PAPER  • 239 PAGES A beautifully illustrated large paperback of excellent quality, this book is a good introduction to the complexities of Indian painting, sculpture and sacred architecture. The author is a curator at the British Museum. (IDA35, $33.00)
Hindu-Buddhist Art of Vietnam: Treasures from Champa  •  Emmanuel Guillon ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 204 PAGES An illustrated overview of the history, art and culture of the Chams, based on the collections at the National Museum at Da Nang. With hundreds of illustrations, mostly in color, and a detailed plan of the museum. Much of the book is devoted to a detailed survey of major sculptures, carving and reliefs on display at the museum. (VNM49, $24.95)
A History of Cambodia  •  David Chandler HISTORY •  2007 •  PAPER  • 312 PAGES An excellent, scholarly history from early civilization through the rise of Angkor, shift to Phnom Penh, French colonial period, Vietnamization of Cambodia, the rise and fall of the Khmer Rouge and Coup de Force of 1997. In a third, expanded edition, Chandler is frank in his criticism of political regimes since WWII. He has also written "Brother Number One, A Political Biography of Pol Pot." (CBD27, $35.00)
Ho Chi Minh, A Life  •  William Duiker BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2001 •  PAPER  • 695 PAGES Dissident, revolutionary, communist, Ho Chi Minh returned from exile to lead North Vietnam's defiant break with colonial France. Duiker charts in convincing detail Ho Chi Minh's long march from the son of a scholar in the rural provinces to idealist student in heady 1920s Paris to rebel and determined revolutionary. Ho Chi Minh died in 1969. The book is hard going, not enlivened by much in the way of anecdote, but definitive -- and well worth the effort for travelers interested in the fundamentals of the Vietnamese drive to oust the French from Indo-China. (VNM45, $18.95)
In Exile from the Land of Snows, The Dalai Lama and Tibet Since the Chinese Occupation  •  John Avedon CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1994 •  PAPER  • 391 PAGES The lives of the Tibetan people at home and in exile since the Chinese takeover in 1950. Avedon (who accompanied the Dalai Lama on his first American tour) interviewed over 100 people in Dharamsala and Tibet for this new classic. After introductory sections on ancient Tibet and the Chinese occupation, Avedon tackles how the nation was thrust into the 20th century by the loss of its sovereignty. It's a masterful, passionate tribute to the people and culture of Tibet. It's also useful in understanding Nepal today. (TBT04, $16.95)
In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War  •  Tobias Wolff BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1995 •  PAPER  • 221 PAGES A vivid memoir of his tour of duty in Vietnam, Wolf deploys his characteristic wit and insight on the experiences of a hapless young man over his head in a strange country under sometimes horrifying circumstances. He interweaves telling anecdotes, personal history and meditation. Part three of the book is a telling acount of returning home. (VNM34, $13.95)
In Search of Southeast Asia: a Modern History  •  David P. Chandler  •  David J. Steinberg HISTORY •  1988 •  PAPER  • 590 PAGES Written by seven historians of Asia, this scholarly overview of the social, economic and political history of Southeast Asia is an excellent introduction to the region. A popular text for courses on modern Southeast Asian history, the organizing theme of the book is the region's cultural adaptation to change. Parts 2, 4 & 5 are organized by country. (SEA18, $30.00)
Insight Compact Guide Laos  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2000 •  PAPER  • 96 PAGES A slim illustrated guide. (LAO15, $7.95)
Insight Guide Laos & Cambodia  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2003 •  PAPER This beautiful guide features wonderful photographs and essays prepared by experts on Laos and Cambodia's attractions, history, culture and nature. With dozens of excellent color maps. (SEA44, $23.95)
Insight Guide Southeast Asia  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2003 •  PAPER  • 302 PAGES • COMING IN A profusely illustrated overview of Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Phillippines, featuring concise essays by well regarded authors on history, politics and culture, as well as hundreds of photos and maps and some limited practical information. (SEA51, $22.95)
Insight Pocket Guide Hanoi  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER  • 96 PAGES A handy full-color guide to the city with a pull-out map. Features recommendations for dining, shopping and sightseeing with an overview of the city's highlights. (VNM71, $13.95)
Insight Pocket Guide Vietnam  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 104 PAGES A slim illustrated guide and separate pull-out map. (VNM86, $13.95)
It's Easier Than You Think, The Buddhist Way to Happiness  •  Sylvia Boorstein RELIGION •  1997 •  PAPER  • 145 PAGES Boorstein -- a practitioner of Buddhist meditation, psychotherapist and Jewish grandmother to boot -- here relates the basic tenets of Buddhism in her warmly engaging, anecdotal style. It's a good introduction to Buddhist teachings by a self-deprecating master. (GEN264, $13.00)
Jewelry of Southeast Asia  •  Anne Richter ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 304 PAGES An in-depth analysis of Southeast Asia's jewelry tradition that spans from the Neolithic and Bronze Age to the present, complemented by 350 full-color illustrations. Richter showcases more than 300 prized pieces and provides insightful commentary. (SEA25, $75.00)
The Killing Fields  •  Roland Joffe 2001 •  DVD The Academy Award winning true story of New York Times reporter Schanberg and his Cambodian assistant Dith Pran and their time in Cambodia during the war years. Expelled from the country, Schanberg is unable to secure safe passage for Dith, who is imprisoned by Pol Pot's brutal Khmer Rouge. (CBD52, $19.98)
The Killing Fields  •  Roland Joffe 1984 •  DVD Haing S. Ngor won an Oscar for his role as Dith Pran, the Cambodian assistant to a New York Times reporter who experiences the horrors of the Khmer Rouge. Based on a true story, it's a harrowing portrait of Cambodia in the early 1970s, where political unrest and the specter of the Vietnam War ultimately led to genocide . (CBD42, $19.98)
Land of the Ascending Dragon, Rediscovering Vietnam  •  Paul Martin HISTORY •  1997 •  HARD COVER  • 192 PAGES Expert commentary by three veteran journalists complements the 140 striking color photographs in this handsome oversize volume surveying Vietnam's rich history and hopeful future. (VNM25, $32.00)
Laos Map  •  Periplus Maps MAP A traveler's map of Laos, with topographical relief and city insets, at a variety of scales. (LAO11, $8.95)
Lonely Planet Cambodia  •  Daniel Robinson  •  Tony Wheeler  •  Chris Taylor GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 374 PAGES • COMING IN SEPTEMBER A comprehensive practical guide to Cambodia in the hallmark Lonely Planet style featuring maps, a good overview of culture, history and nature and much nuts-and-bolts information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. With a section of color photographs and excellent travel information. Geared for the independent traveler. (CBD04, $21.99)
Lonely Planet Laos  •  Joe Cummings GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 332 PAGES This practical guide to Laos by Lonely Planet features maps, a 60-page overview of culture, history and nature and plenty of information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. With color photographs and excellent travel information by the intrepid Joe Cummings. (LAO02, $21.99)
Lonely Planet Vietnam  •  Robert Storey GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 540 PAGES In its hallmark style, this Lonely Planet guide to Vietnam rivals the Moon guide in its comprehensiveness. It features maps, a good overview of culture, history and nature, and much nuts-and-bolts information on excursions, accomodations and sights. With color photographs and excellent travel information. (VNM14, $23.99)
Lonely Planet Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & the Greater Mekong  •  Nick Ray GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 548 PAGES A comprehensive, practical guide featuring maps and information on history, culture, excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. Includes chapters on Thailand and Bangkok. (SEA63, $24.99)
Look What Came From China!  •  Miles Harvey CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1999 •  PAPER  • 32 PAGES • YOUNG READERS (Age 4-8) A slim guide to China, its products, animals, food, tools, crafts and inventions, with color photographs and accompanying text. For children ages 4-8. (CHN155, $6.95)
Lost Soldiers  •  James Webb LITERATURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 464 PAGES A sequel to the novelist (and Vietnam Vet) James Webb's Fields of Fire. (VNM70, $7.99)
The Lover  •  Marguerite Duras LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 117 PAGES A haunting tale of coming-of-age in Indochina during the 1930s, beautifully evoking the period and place and the complex emotions of a young girl, her family, and her wealthy Chinese lover. (CBD09, $11.00)
My Detachment  •  Tracy Kidder BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2005 •  AUDIO CD (VNM95, $29.95)
The Naked Tourist, In Search of Adventure and Beauty in the Age of the Airport Mall  •  Lawrence Osborne TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES • NEW "It came upon me suddenly," Osborne reports, "like a mental disorder unknown to psychiatry: the desire to stop everything in normal life, to uproot, leave." And so he does, taking off on a six-month journey from Dubai to India, Bangkok, Bali and Papua New Guinea on the "Asian Highway." Osborne is not just interested in travel, but also in the reasons why we travel, layering his own entertaining adventures with ruminations on Shangri-La, The Grand Tour, the exotic and primitive. (SEA50, $14.00)
National Geographic Traveler China  •  Damian Harper GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A generously illustrated guide to China with the usual National Geographic attention to maps and photographs, covering the big cities and the Yangtze, as well as southern, western and northeastern China in unusual depth. Harper writes with authority in a lively, opinionated style; no surprise, since he is also the co-author of three guides on the region for Lonely Planet. With a 50-page appendix of practical travel information. (CHN163, $27.95)
National Geographic Traveler Vietnam  •  Jim Sullivan GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES This guide to Vietnam, published in the National Geographic attractive visual style, features hundreds of photographs, full color maps, and good information on history, nature, culture and travel in Vietnam. (VNM93, $22.95)
Novel without a Name  •  Thu Huong Duong LITERATURE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES From celebrated dissident author Duong Thu Huong, this lyrical novel tells the story of a North Vietnamese solider who clings to memories of his childhood in the hard times of war. (VNM23, $14.00)
The Other Side of Heaven, Postwar Fiction by Vietnamese and American Writers  •  Truong Vu  •  Le M. Khue  •  Wayne Karlin ANTHOLOGY •  1995 •  PAPER  • 420 PAGES Writers from both sides of the Vietnam War have contributed to this anthology, which offers insight into understanding the divided nation. It's also a good opportunity to read contributions by writers not generally translated into English. (VNM42, $17.95)
Passage to Vietnam, Through the Eyes of Seventy Photographers  •  Rick Smolan  •  Jennifer Erwit CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1994 •  HARD COVER  • 224 PAGES Great photography combined with insightful commentary on modern Vietnam. It features more than 400 fine photographs and essays by Pico Iyer and Stanley Karnow. (VNM15, $70.00)
Passions of the Cut Sleeve, The Male Homosexual Tradition in China  •  Bret Hinsch LITERATURE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES A well written, scholarly survey of the traditions of same-sex male love across 3,000 years of Chinese literature -- much livlier than the title would indicate. Hinsch draws from dynastic histories, erotic novels, popular Buddhist tracts, love poetry, legal cases, and joke books in this fascinating overview. (CHN167, $21.95)
Perspectives on the Yi of Southwest China  •  Stevan Harrell CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2001 •  PAPER  • 334 PAGES A scholarly, cross-disciplinary study of the Yi people, noteworthy for its comprehensive ethnographic approach and for the diversity of its contributors, who are of western, Yi and Chinese backgrounds. (CHN169, $24.95)
Phase Line Green, The Battle for Hue, 1968  •  Nicholas Warr HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 255 PAGES A powerful and personal account of a U.S. Marine's experience in the Battle of Hue, a brutal, month-long battle to capture a strategically important North Vietnamese citadel. Nicholas wrote this account in 1983, 15 years after the events described. Available in this print-on-demand edition only. (VNM36, $19.00)
Photographic Guide to Birds of the Himalayas  •  B. Grewal FIELD GUIDE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 144 PAGES A pocket guide to 250 birds found from the foothills up to high elevations ranging from the Hindu Kush and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh in the Eastern Himalayas. With brief descriptive information, maps and 260 full-color illustrations. (HML31, $15.95)
A Pilgrimage to Angkor  •  Pierre Loti TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 93 PAGES This turn-of-the-century account by the French novelist and traveler captures Loti's fascination with the temples, relief carvings and culture of Angkor. With 22 color photographs. Edited with an introduction by Michael Smithies, who describes Loti's purple prose as fulsome. Loti had a romantic nature, capturing the spirit of place with feeling. (CBD35, $17.95)
Pimsleur Quick & Simple Vietnamese  •  Pimsleur Language Method LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2005 •  AUDIO CD Four audio CDs with eight 30-minute lessons in basic Vietnamese, covering elementary vocabulary and phrases used in travel and everyday situations. The Pimsleur method emphasizes the use of listening skills without reading materials (so there isn't a book to follow along). It's advertised as "Totally audio: hear it, learn it, speak it." (VNM81, $19.95)
Platoon, Special Edition  •  Oliver Stone 2005 •  DVD Oliver Stone's semi-autobiographical masterpiece depicts the horrors of the Vietnam War in gritty realism through the eyes of a young recruit. This special edition features commentary by Stone and the film's military supervisor as well as a documentary and a photo gallery. (VNM98, $14.98)
The Politics of Heroin, CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade  •  Alfred McCoy HISTORY •  1991 •  PAPER  • 634 PAGES An expanded version of McCoy's groundbreaking "The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia." This second edition includes the relationship between drug merchants, and intelligence and law enforcement agencies from Southeast Asia, to Central America and Afghanistan. The author is a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin. (LAO09, $32.95)
The Quiet American  •  Phillip Noyce 2003 •  DVD A subtle and beautiful adaptation of Graham Greene's novel. Michael Caine stars as Thomas Fowler, a British journalist stationed in Vietnam in the 1950s, on the cusp of the Vietnam War. His friendship with the seemingly quiet American Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser) takes a turn for the dangerous when Pyle falls in love with Fowler's young Vietnamese mistress (Do Thi Hai Yen), and his political motives become clear. (VNM59, $29.99)
Religions of China, The World as a Living System  •  David L. Overmyer RELIGION •  1998 •  PAPER  • 125 PAGES This brief primer, geared for a general audience, covers the religions of China from early beliefs to Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. (CHN154, $11.50)
Religions of Tibet in Practice  •  Donald S. Lopez, Jr. RELIGION •  1997 •  PAPER  • 560 PAGES A collection of 36 essays and translated texts by scholars of Tibetan Buddhism, including selections on prayers, pilgrimages, death and ritual. It is a scholarly overview of the culture and religion of Tibet, organized thematically and accessible to the general reader. (TBT16, $37.95)
Reporting Vietnam, American Journalism 1959-1975  •  Ward Just ANTHOLOGY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 858 PAGES A riveting selection of contemporary newspaper and magazine reports and books by American journalists. This paperback edition draws from the original two-volume Library of America hardcover edition. (VNM77, $35.00)
River Road to China, The Search for the Source of the Mekong, 1866-73  •  Milton Osborne EXPLORATION •  1999 •  PAPER  • 247 PAGES An excellent modern account of a 19th-century French expedition 4,000 miles from Vietnam and Cambodia into unknown regions of China in search of the source of the Mekong. With a selection of 19th-century engravings and color illustrations from the expedition. Originally published in 1975. (SEA29, $16.00)
Rough Guide Cambodia  •  Beverley Palmer GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 376 PAGES A practical, comprehensive travel guide to Cambodia in the British series. Features a detailed look at Phnom Penh and Angkor, tips for traveling to the rural villages, an overview of the country after the fall of the Khmer Rouge and 24 maps. (CBD34, $29.99)
Rough Guide Map Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos  •  World Mapping Project 2006 •  MAP A detailed travel map of Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos. (SEA56, $9.99)
Ruins of Angkor Cambodia in 1909  •  P. Dieulefils ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 152 PAGES A handsomely produced facsimile edition of a rare 1909 publication featuring 140 magnificent sepia-toned illustrations of the site and surrounding area. Dieuliefils shows, in detail, the intricate carvings, sculpture and forest setting of the decaying monuments. Also included are his photographs of Phnom Penh, countryside and Khmer dancers. With captions in French, English and German. (CBD37, $39.95)
Sacred Angkor, The Carved Reliefs of Angkor Wat  •  Vittorio Roveda GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 184 PAGES A richly illustrated guide to the myth and meaning of the intricate relief carvings at Angkor. With a few pages on each principal site, outstanding color photographs, maps and detailed floor plans. (CBD06, $30.00)
Sanctuary, The Temples of Angkor  •  Steve McCurry ARCHAEOLOGY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 144 PAGES A selection of 100 stunning color photographs of the monks and the monuments of Angkor, the extraordinary carvings, and the forest surrounding the temples by a popular Magnum photographer. John Guy provides an introduction. (CBD28, $29.95)
Shadow of the Bear, Travels in Their Vanishing Country  •  Brian Payton NATURAL HISTORY •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 256 PAGES (NAT100, $25.95)
Shadows and Wind  •  Robert Templer CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1999 •  PAPER  • 398 PAGES A journalist who was stationed in Vietnam for three years, Templer is a lively, opinionated guide to current politics, attitudes and aspirations in Vietnam. This is a highly recommended, well rendered portrait of contemporary Vietnam. (VNM43, $16.00)
Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness  •  Milton Osborne BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1994 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES Osborne follows, with a critical eye, the roller-coaster career of this important Asian leader -- from king to exile to king again -- and shows him as an energetic and determined, but also self-absorbed, individual. (CBD20, $17.95)
The Sorrow of War, A Novel of North Vietnam  •  Bao Ninh LITERATURE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 213 PAGES A powerful novel by a former North Vietnamese soldier, now translated and available in the United States. This short book captures the appalling conditions of war, alternating vivid scenes from the front lines with flashbacks from the protagonist's rural youth. An unusual and compelling view from the "other side" of the war. (VNM07, $14.00)
Southeast Asia in the New International Era  •  Clark Neher HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES A good general history of the entire region and its place in the world. Written by a seasoned scholar, the book is now in its third edition. (SEA17, $38.00)
Southeast Asia, A Concise History  •  Mary Somers Heidhues HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES A lively, illustrated history of Southeast Asia, covering the politics, economics, society and culture of Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines. With 131 black-and-white illustrations and 11 maps. (SEA26, $19.95)
Southern China Map  •  Nelles 2005 •  MAP A detailed travel map of Southern China, from Taiwan to Hong Kong and the Yunnan Province, at a 1:1,500,000 scale. (CHN27, $10.95)
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down  •  Anne Fadiman CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1998 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES The title refers to the Hmong explanation for seizures. It's the story of a child with epilepsy, the daughter of Hmong refugees in California and a tragedy wrought by cultural mistranslation. Fadiman, the editor of American Scholar, got to know her loving family and the hard-working doctors that cared for Lia, and gracefully documents the clash between best interests. It's a sympathetic look at the Hmong culture, history and worldview that reveals much about ours as well. (VNM31, $15.00)
Stay Alive, My Son  •  Pin Yathay BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES A harrowing account of life in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge and particularly the evacuations of Phnom Penh, written by an engineer for the Ministry of Public Works. (CBD44, $21.95)
Street Without Joy  •  Bernard B. Fall HISTORY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 408 PAGES A vivid account of the French defeat in Vietnam, originally published in 1961. (VNM18, $24.95)
The Tale of Kieu, Bilingual Edition  •  Huynh Thong LITERATURE •  1987 •  PAPER  • 211 PAGES A masterpiece of Vietnamese literature, written in the early 19th-century by a Vietnamese ambassador to the Chinese court. This edition, translated and annotated by Huynh Sanh Thong, renders the narrative poem in modern blank verse. The much-celebrated poem, based on a Chinese novel, shows East Asian classical and Vietnamese folk influences. (VNM22, $21.00)
The Things They Carried  •  Tim O'Brien LITERATURE •  1991 •  PAPER  • 246 PAGES National Book Award-winner O'Brien captures, better than anyone, the daily life of a soldier in Vietnam. This is a loosely structured collection of vignettes and stories. (VNM32, $13.95)
Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China  •  Arthur Waley RELIGION •  1982 •  PAPER  • 216 PAGES An elegantly written, classic introduction to traditional Chinese philosophy. Waley, who provides lyrical translations, discusses three great threads in this slim book: Daoism, Realism and the writings of Meniscus (closely related to Confucianism). Originally published in 1953, Waley's entertaining anecdotes, evident humor and aphorisms, enliven the text. The first section is entitled In the Realm of Nothing Whatever. (CHN164, $17.95)
The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Liberation from Understanding the In Between  •  Robert Thurman CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1994 •  PAPER  • 275 PAGES A key text as presented by Robert Thurman for a western audience. This edition of the Tibetan guidebooks to dying or "the between" -- written in the 8th or 9th century by Padma Sambhava -- is introduced and translated by Thurman. It's is a spiritual guide to the afterlife, helpfully augmented by Thurman's commentary as well as an overview of Tibetan history and beliefs. With a chapter on Tibet, its history, Buddhist traditions and present plight. Part Two of the book is a translation of prayers. (TBT06, $18.00)
To Hanoi and Back, The U.S. Air Force and North Vietnam, 1966-1973  •  Wayne Thompson  •  Richard P. Hallion HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 360 PAGES A detailed history of the American air campaign in the Vietnam War. (VNM57, $31.95)
To What End?  •  Ward Just HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 208 PAGES Reports from Vietnman in 1966-1967 by the Washington Post reporter and novelist, reissued on the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. (VNM73, $14.00)
Tragedy of Cambodian History: Politics, War and Revolution since 1945  •  David Chandler HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 408 PAGES A scholarly history of Cambodian politics and society from World War II to the late 1970s, covering the Vietnam War and the rise of the Khmer Rouge. The author, a professor and noted historian, draws from his own experiences as a foreign service officer in Phnom Penh. (CBD45, $26.00)
Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992  •  Jane Hamilton-Merritt HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 608 PAGES A portrait of the Hmong, their role in America's clandestine war in Laos during the Vietnam era and their persecution and plight in Laos since being abandoned by America in 1975. The author, a reporter during the Vietnam War, has worked for decades on behalf of the Laotian mountain people. (LAO12, $27.95)
The Travels of Marco Polo  •  Marco Polo  •  Ronald Lantham TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1975 •  PAPER  • 380 PAGES The memories of a 13th-century journey to China along the Silk Road, maybe the most famous travel account ever, as edited by Ronald Lantham. Describing exotic plants, birds, precious gems, silks, and spices with a merchant's eye, this superb geographer recounts his 20 years of travel and return to Venice in 1295. (CAS05, $13.95)
The Treasures of Angkor  •  Marilia Albanese GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  FLEXI-BOUND  • 288 PAGES A compact, illustrated guide to the history, art and architecture of Angkor. With suggested itineraries, site plans and notes on visiting individual temples. (CBD48, $24.95)
Up Country  •  Nelson Demille LITERATURE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 880 PAGES A Tom Clancy-Style military thriller, rich in historical detail, geography and intrigue. Demille, a Vietnam veteran, follows the fate of his career army protagonist (also the main character in "The General's Daughter") on a trip back in 1997. (VNM46, $7.99)
Vanishing Histories, 100 Endangered Sites from the World Monuments Fund  •  Colin Amery ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 207 PAGES • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE A stunning portrait of 100 threatened archaeological and cultural monuments around the world from Angkor, Pompeii, and Mesa Verde to lesser known buildings and sites, all listed by the World Monuments Fund. Organized geographically, each building or site gets at least a full page, usually two. Founded in 1996, the New York-based organization is dedicated to publicizing, preserving and protecting endangered examples of historic art and architecture around the world. (GEN219, $60.00)
A Viet Cong Memoir  •  Truang Nhu Tang BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1986 •  PAPER  • 350 PAGES A candid, revealing story of a revolutionary life, wonderfully free of cant. This telling memoir by the former Viet Cong Minister of Justice, now living in exile in Paris, gives a detailed report from the inside, as much about his life as about the Viet Cong campaign. Not only does it provide a unique perspective on the war, the book is a compelling personal tale. (VNM11, $15.95)
Vietnam Map  •  ITMB 2000 •  MAP A sturdy, double-sided map of Vietnam, at a good scale (1:1,000,000). It features a few paragraphs on major attractions and city maps, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and the Hue region. With index. (VNM05, $10.95)
Vietnam Now, A Reporter Returns  •  David Lamb CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2003 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES An insightful portrait of contemporary Vietnam by an experienced reporter (The Africans, The Arabs). The author interweaves stories of Vietnam today with his own experiences and memories as a young reporter for UPI during the war. Lamb, who reported from Vietnam in 1968, returned in 1997 as a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. (VNM47, $17.00)
Vietnam Today: A Guide to a Nation at a Crossroads  •  Mark Ashwill  •  Thai Ngoc Diep CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2004 •  PAPER  • 188 PAGES A practical guide to politics, culture and getting along in contemporary Vietnam geared for both business people and travelers. With short chapters on geography, demographics, politics, economy and business, history and changes since the war, cultural differences and tips for working with the Vietnamese, nd how the Vietnamese view us. (VNM80, $24.95)
Vietnam, A Book of Changes  •  Mitch Epstein CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1996 •  HARD COVER  • 176 PAGES A collection of 80 contemporary photographs that convey the dynamism of Vietnam today. These marvelous photographs capture the people and culture of a country largely cut off from the outside world for the last 30 years, a Vietnam that few have seen. Mitch Epstein, a noted cinematographer, is familiar with Asian subjects. Previous works include In Pursuit of India. (VNM06, $35.00)
Vietnam, A History  •  Stanley Karnow HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 768 PAGES This blockbuster book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author is history at its best: masterfully researched, well written and comprehensive. In this magisterial work, Karnow draws on interviews and archives to put the ordeal of the Vietnam war into perspective, offering clarity, analysis and focus. (VNM10, $21.00)
Vietnam, Spirits of the Earth  •  Frances FitzGerald  •  Mary Cross CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 204 PAGES • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE • COMING IN A handsome, informative portrait of Vietnam at the turn of the millennium -- a collaboration between journalist FitzGerald (Fire in the Lake) and veteran photographer Mary Cross. FitzGerald, who reported on the war for the New Yorker, reflects on how the country has changed since the 1970s, and Cross's 100 color photographs vividly illustrate the text. (VNM48, $50.00)
Vietnam, The Necessary War  •  Michael Lind HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES A reinterpretation of America's most disastrous military conflict by Michael Lind, a political journalist and fellow at the New America Foundation. Lind challenges received wisdom, suggesting that the disaster in Indochina was a just and winnable war. (VNM74, $15.00)
Vietnam: A Natural History  •  Eleanor J. Sterling  •  Martha Maud Hurley  •  Le Duc Minh  •  Joyce Ann Powzyk NATURAL HISTORY •  2007 •  PAPER  • 448 PAGES A serious, thorough study of habitats, wildlife, human influence and conservation in Vietnam, featuring a handful of color photographs (VNM85, $22.00)