451 The Twenty-Five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon

Lam, Q.T. (2002). The Twenty-Five Year Century: A South Vietnamese General Remembers the Indochina War to the Fall of Saigon. [Kindle]. Denton TX: University of North Texas Press.

Subjects (Group/Subheading): Vietnam/Nature of the Vietnam war

One liner: On-the-scene account

Date Published: 2002   Acquired:

Source (Type/Source/Notes): Publication / Book /

Author: Lam, Quang Tri

Notes:

This is the memoir of an educated, competent and idealistic military man who did not have to struggle with his choices. Lam was a member of the Vietnamese elite that the French colonists created to administer and defend their colony. That military became the ARVN. His job was to defend their privileged status against communism. There were no ideals such as democracy and freedom driving this man and he knew that the government he was fighting for was flawed. For him, the war really was a war against communism. The book sheds light on the motives of the ARVN faction in the today's diaspora. (Ignore the central chapters on military history; all the politics are in the early and final chapters).

A most important point about the title: "twenty-five years" refers to 1950-1975, i.e. from when the French colonists formed the puppet State of Vietnam military until it collapsed.

Citations:

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Item last updated: 2020-11-06