Christopher Goscha

The first history for a general audience of one of Asia's most fascinating and complex countries. As more and more visitors come to Vietnam, there has been for some years a need for a major history — a book which allows the outsider to understand the many layers left by earlier emperors, rebels, priests, and colonisers. The Penguin History of...

A multifaceted history of Ho Chi Minh's climactic victory over French colonial might that foreshadowed America's experience in Vietnam. On May 7, 1954, when the bullets stopped and the air stilled in Dien Bien Phu, there was no doubt that Vietnam could fight a mighty colonial power and win. After nearly a decade of struggle, a nation forged in the...