A comprehensive guide to understanding Vietnam's long and tumultuous history

A Brief History of Vietnam explores the turbulent history of a land that has risen from the ashes of war to become the newest Asian tiger economy. This book expertly examines the history of a people and a nation with ancient roots which only took its current shape in the 19th century under French colonial rule, and its current name in 1945.

Before that, Vietnam was known by many names, under many rulers. Located in the geographic center of Southeast Asia, the country we call "Vietnam" was ruled by China, then by a series of Vietnamese emperors, and by the French. A devastating, decades-long conflict for independence ensued, ending with the conclusion of the Vietnam War in 1975. Key topics discussed in this fascinating book include:


China's ancient conquest of Vietnam and the millennia-long struggle of the Vietnamese for independence from their powerful neighbor to the north
The reign of the Nguyen dynasty, the last dynasty to rule Vietnam, with its capital at the ancient city of Hue, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The story of Ho Chi Minh, educated in France, who attended the Treaty of Versailles to advocate for independence and became Vietnam's first president after the French were defeated
The country's miraculous emergence from three decades of war and how it has embarked on the path to becoming one of the world's fastest-growing economies today


Journalist Bill Hayton's accessible prose makes A Brief History of Vietnam an essential study of a complex culture at the heart of Southeast Asia—and the roots of its current economic dynamism.