Reviews (13)

A must have for your travel book library
As someone who's outgrown Lonely Planet and Let's Go guides, I found Fay's book to be an excellent guide for those looking for more in-depth perspective and history than simply finding a hostel or looking for the next watering hole. Pictures are gorgeous and one can easily tell a good deal of money went into the exquisite design.A great writer and guide, Kim is someone I wish I had along with me in my South East Asian travels!

Don't understand the fuss
I bought this based on the reviews here on Amazon - and I'm sorry that I did. It doesn't contain any valuable information and the organization is odd for a guidebook. I just don't see the point of this guidebook.

Dreadful guide book
Badly organized, can't find anything quickly...most of the tips can be found in lonely guide for the various counries....in the end was totally useless on our trip to cambodia, laos, and vietnam... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. General    3. Reference - Guides (General)    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Travel - General    7. Travel / General   

Reviews (10)

Buy another book
I have used LP books for a lot of my travels throughout Southeast Asia and usually am pretty satisfied with my experience.This LP book on Vietnam though, does not live up to the standards of other LP travel books!
"Rather good" rated by evietnamese.net
I read Lonely Planet of Vietnam and Korea and I found that it's not bad at all. Don't understand why people around here mostly don't like it. Useful informations, many times updated, rather good.
Beware of border information
I used this edition on a bicycle trip across northern Vietnam from Laos to China. The authors confused the new Na Maew/Na Meo crossing between Laos and Vietnam with another crossing farther south. Na Maew/Na Meo is the northernmost international crossing between the two countries, and wasn't described at all. (Note to Lonely Planet: Please restore the UPDATES feature on your website!)
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Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel & holiday guides    5. Vietnam   

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Travel & holiday guides    6. Travel / Asia / Southeast    7. Vietnam   

Reviews (4)

An Educating Glimpse of Vietnam
Vietnam: Spirits of the Earth by Frances Fitzgerald, Mary Cross (Photographer) is definitely another one to add to your South-east-Asia booklist. The book is divided into essentially two sections: the first includes the commentary; the second - the photography. The commentary discusses several "down-to-earth" issues and aspects of Vietnamese life and culture and manages to cut through their (only seemingly) simple fabric; the mix of subjects chosen is surprisingly (and refreshingly) esoteric (and authentic). The photography is good, although a bit on the grainy side. All in all - a recommended book for the South-east-Asian culture enthusiast!

Vietnam: Spirits of the Earth
Vietnam: Spirits of the Earth, photographs by Mary Cross and text by Frances FitzGerald, a book of surpassingly beautiful images by the distinguished American photographer and a thoughtful, radiantly intelligent text by the National Book Award-winning author and historian, bringing us the news, not entirely expected in some quarters, that since the devastation of the Vietnam War years, Vietnam has shifted to a market economy that has allowed for a "fascinating resurgence of traditional culture"; another work of surpassing beauty and ambition. Vietnam: Spirits of the Earth
Ever since serving in the Army from 1967-71 I have been curious about what Vietnam is really like. I was never sent over while in the army so all I know was what I read and heard.This book is informatively writen and beautifully photographed. This book is not about the war, it is about the country today. Extraordinary in every sense! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast Asia    2. Photo Essays    3. Photography    4. Photojournalism    5. Pictorial works    6. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/Asia    7. Vietnam    8. Photographs: collections    9. Photography / Photojournalism   

Reviews (3)

Travel Perfume
I just unwrapped my Insight Giuide Vietnam from Amazon. It has some of the most beautiful photographs I have ever seen. The travel text is simply icing on the cake. Anyone involved in a trip to Vietnam will want this book on their shelf. This book will excite your imagination, and guarantee that you will have beautiful memories of your trip even if you lose your camera.

Insight Pocket Guides Vietnam (2nd Edition)
Although it includes most of the information I found in Fodor's, it wasn'tas detailed.It's as if the writer assumes the reader knows his way aroundHanoi or other larger cities.Top sights to visit are blurred together. Maps were difficult to read.

Vietnam Bound
While the Insight Guides do not provide the best info as far as hotels andrestaurants, they give excellent background info and tourist info.A greatresource. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Travel & holiday guides    6. Vietnam   

Reviews (9)

Descriptive, but not horribly useful
I'm writing this from Ho Chi Minh City where I've been for the last month or so.I have not traveled much outside the city, so my perspective is limited to the parts about Vietnam in general and HCMC specifically.
not as good as lets go and lonely planet
I would have checked 3.5 stars if possible, 4 is too high, 3 is too low.I didn't like the hotel section as much as other guide books.And I didn't like the price rating system, I prefer to have the prices in US$ or VD.Also the map in the front is not comprehensive enough.

The Lonely Planet was much better
I had the Lonely Planet and my friend had the Rough guide and the difference was quite great.The section on the Mekong Delta for example was vastly more in depth in the LP and I would have been totally lost if I had used the Rough Guide. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Travel & holiday guides    6. Travel / Asia / Southeast    7. Vietnam   

Reviews (37)

Heaven and Earth
The book follows the first twenty years of Hayslip's life, beginning in the Vietnamese village of Ky La.The United States/Vietnam war begins early in her life, and she discovers that her centrally located village is stuck in the middle.By day the villagers are technically controlled by the U.S./Republican force, and threatened to ensure their loyalty, but by night the Viet Cong attacks and claims the village for their own, a process which is reversed the next day.The villagers try to pacify each side, and many are destroyed by both.Hayslip tells her family's story- they alternatively first for and are attacked by the Viet Cong, depending on the changes in the wind.
To Tell the Truth
I have just finished watching To Tell the Truth on the Game Show Network and this remarkable lady was on this episode.After just hearing only part of the story it brought tears to my eyes to hear that something of this nature took place which brought me to the internet to see if this book was available.I will certainly read this book very soon to hear the rest of this amazing story.God Bless Le Ly Hayslip

Wonderful!
Forget all the talk about Communism vs. Capitalism!! This is a book that deals with the human experience. It's one person's journey through life and it also gives us a different pair of eyes to see the Vietnam War through. Enjoy it! The story keeps your attention and you'll find yourself soul-searching as you read...truly universal. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast Asia    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Description and travel    6. General    7. Hayslip, Le Ly    8. Personal narratives, Vietnames    9. Personal narratives, Vietnamese    10. Refugees    11. United States    12. Vietnam    13. Vietnam War, 1961-1975    14. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975    15. Biography & Autobiography / Women   

Editorial Review

From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the most jaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years, and as a result has experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach.While still giving insights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range of accommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money.Read more

Reviews (20)

Everything the traveller needs to know about Viet Nam
I just got back from a three week trip to Viet Nam, and would have been lost without my trusty LP guidebook.I travelled from north to south and was never at a loss with the help of this book.Granted LP should have put in diacritics because without them, communication breaks down when you don't know the tones, but the in depth research and care that went into this book (and subsequently, all of LP's books) shines through to provide the reader with a competant, user-friendly travel guide.Plus, LP is much more gay-friendly than the other guidebook series.

Don't travel to Vietnam without it
I bought the Vietnam LP on advice from my roomate who never travels to a new place without one. The Vietnam LP soon became my bible in Vietnam, not to mention every other travelers that I met there as well. In fact kids on the streets of Hanoi and Saigon often sell photocopied versions of these LP's to tourists. No other tourist book is more popular there, and for good reason. A victim of its own popularity
LP Vietnam, as several others have mentioned, is misleading and out of date. But even worst, is that it tries to scare most travelers into following its suggested itinerary instead of venturing out on their own. I was going to outline some of the more glaring mistakes, but other reviews beat me to the punch.Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Guidebooks    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Vietnam   

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Travel & holiday guides    6. Travel / Asia / Southeast    7. Vietnam   

Reviews (8)

The Best
This is the best guide available. Moon travel beats the major competitor (the main travel-trail eye-sore creator) in almost all respects, but not all. Disappointing
This book is getting mixed reviews. It seems like friends of the author say its great. Those who tried to actually use the book are disappointed that everything is so out of date. This edition was not updated since the first edition and is now really out of date. Things change, but sloppy research is always out of style.

An Outstanding Guidebook
I've been using Michael Buckley's Vietnam Handbook for two months now and have found it to be excellent. It's well organized with country introductions which told me almost everything I wanted to know. Michael'ssidebars are intriguing and I especially appreciate the city walking tourswhich have led me to many hidden little places I might have missedotherwise. The maps are better than those in the other guidebooks becausesites are labeled right on the maps themselves rather than coded in a keywhich is impossible to read in dim lighting (a fault with the Lonely Planetseries). Michael has provided not only the usual city and country maps, butalso detailed inner city maps and even maps of the individual templesaround Angkor Wat. This book covers three countries and sure beats havingto buy and lug around individual guides to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.I've found that the coverage better than adequate and certainly head andshoulders above the general Southeast Asia guides which are surprisinglysketchy about these countries. Indochina is changing so fast that much ofthe practical information in any guide is bound to be out of date beforethe book reaches the shelves and this 1998 edition does require updating,but so do all the other guides to the region. You usually end up gettingthat kind of information from other travelers anyway. Of the threecountries included, the coverage of Cambodia is the weakest, obviouslybecause that country is only now opening to independent travel. Nextedition Michael needs to get to places like Kampong Cham, etc. Meanwhile Irecommend this handbook highly over all its competitors. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Cambodia    6. Laos    7. Travel & holiday guides    8. Travel / Asia / Southeast    9. Vietnam   

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Atlases - General    3. Maps    4. Maps & Road Atlases    5. Reference    6. Travel    7. Travel Guides    8. Travel / road maps & atlases    9. Vietnam   

Editorial Review

Living in Seattle and failing to make her mark as an actress, Erika Warmbrunn decides to chuck it all and go traveling. Her resulting novel, Read more

Reviews (14)

Not the proverbial "ugly American"
Far too often discretion is overthrown in favor of "attitude". How refreshing to read a book that not only reflects thoughtfully on cross cultural respect and understanding, but avoids the self-indulgence that is all-too common in travelogues.
A Pageturner!
I enjoyed this book and oftentimes found the narrative absorbing.I was astonished by the contrasts particularly between Mongolia, with its frigid weather, expansive plains and childlike adults, and Vietnam, with its tropical beaches and aggressive, war-weary toddlers!Attention to detail really enlivened the book.I particularly liked the linguistic asides and descriptions of different foods.I always looked forward to the pictures, although I sorely missed a photo of Beijing.The chapter about the author's trip over a dangerous Chinese mountain on her way to Xiangning was loaded with suspense!But then there was no resolution.After her harrowing experience, we needed to see her actually arrive in Xiangning. I'm not Lance
The good news is, I really liked this book.The bad news is that when I finished it I quit my job, sold the house, drained my IRA and bought a bicycle.Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Bicycle touring    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. China    7. Cycling - General    8. Description and travel    9. Essays & Travelogues    10. Mongolia    11. Vietnam    12. Women    13. ASIA    14. East Asia, Far East    15. South East Asia    16. Travel writing   

Reviews (3)

How low can you go?Solo
My father and I have the same last name, we are both pilots and we have both read SOLO by Clyde Edgerton.That's were we parted company.My dad liked it.I did not.
An Insight into the Dream of Flight
This book is probably the best written book I have read this year. It is an example of a book written by someone who knows their subject matter well. Edgerton has a way of making you feel as though you are a fly on the wall of the cockpit.
Interesting book, not only for flight enthusiasts

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Subjects:  1. Aerial operations, American    2. Air pilots    3. Air pilots, Military    4. Aviation - General    5. Biography    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. General    10. Historical - General    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Travelers    13. United States    14. Vietnam War, 1961-1975    15. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (1)

Information at best.
Fodor's See It Vietnam does have a lot of information about the country, it's history and people.Valuable information on how to get there, yet for a book just published it is a little out of date.Lonely Planet's Vietnam has better coverage of places to stay and see.If you are going to Saigon or Hanoi and have a lot of money then this is the guide for you.If you plan to visit other parts of Vietnam and are on a budget, then one of the other guides is your best choice.Buy this one for information and pictures, but get one of the other guides to take with you. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Reference - Guides (General)    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel Guides    6. Travel / Asia / Southeast   

Reviews (3)

A poor entry in a usually reliable series.
The writing in this series is variable, but it's the content that we read them for. The others I have read usually score a bullseye in that respect. In this case I wish they had found someone else to write the book. The author seems to be a rich Western housewife whose colonialist attitudes are sometimes offensively apparent. A good chunk of space is dedicated to the problem of keeping the servants in line and how hard it is to find good help - which is pretty useless to the average traveller. This is simply a "must buy"
This is one of the two books I read in preparing for a 3 week stay in Vietnam. The content was right on the mark, and helpful for even this traveler. In essential tips it more than paid for itself! It is simply amust for those traveling to Vietnam.

Culture Shock: Vietnam
This book is a must for anyone planning a visit to Vietnam.My wife and I visited Hanoi three years ago and the content of this book hit the mark.It is full of practical information that is up to date and written bysomeone who has been there.This book will keep you from cultural mistakesthat might cause you to offend someone and will help you get around thecountry in a smoother way.Our family is now returning to Vietnam for afour year stay and this book will be going with us! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Asia - Southeast    3. Asia - Southeast Asia    4. Etiquette    5. Social life and customs    6. Travel    7. Travel - Foreign    8. Vietnam    9. ASIA    10. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Angkor Wat    2. Asia - Far East    3. Asia - Southeast    4. Description    5. Guidebooks    6. Travel    7. Travel - Foreign    8. Vietnam   

Reviews (3)

Lived Religion in Your Living Room
This is a great book one never gets tired of looking through. It is full of a great variety of beautiful color photographs, all of them giving you a different glimpse of religion in Vietnam. Some shots show you the outside of the sacred temples and pagodas in all of their ornate architecture, others the insides of these buildings as people--priests and lay folks--pray and carry out rites. And many others still focus on the icons, the deities being worshipped. One excellent thing about these latter shots is that the deities are always situated in their ritual contexts (incense burning, offerings spread out before them) and not in the abstract like museum pieces. By the end, one is left with a vivid sense of the deeply intense and heart-felt religiosity of the Vietnamese people as they really live it.
Beautiful pictures, good essay
This is a coffee-table style book: hundreds of beautiful, color pictures, with a short, informative essay. In fact, the nearly 50-page essay is better than many coffee-table books are. If you're interested in pictures, this is your book. If you're interested in descriptions of beliefs and practices, this is merely an introduction. Unfortunately, I don't know of a good book for that purpopse, although I've looked around both in Vietnam and the United States. Also, this book doesn't cover Hoa Hao, Vietnamese Catholicism or the Montangards' religions at all, and only the most famous Cham and Cao Dai sites.

Extraordinary book on the Art of Vietnam
I highly recommend this beautifully photographed and well document book on the art and culture of Vietnam. I loved the pictures of many sacred ceremonies and Ms. Unger's descriptive text. It is a miracle that these buildings still exist after what Vietnam has endured. The only reservation I have with the book is that it does not cover ancient Vietnam history in depth. Otherwise, the book is extraordinary. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Buddhism - General    3. Description And Travel    4. Pagodas    5. Pictorial works    6. Pictorials    7. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    8. Religion    9. Religion - World Religions    10. Religious Buildings Architecture    11. Religious life and customs    12. Travel    13. Vietnam    14. Religions of Indic & Oriental origin    15. Religious buildings   

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. General    3. Travel    4. Travel - General    5. Travel Guides    6. South East Asia    7. Travel & holiday guides    8. Travel / General   

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Cycling - General    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Cambodia    6. Cycling    7. Laos    8. South East Asia    9. Travel & holiday guides    10. Vietnam   

Reviews (2)

A great resource for my holiday!
This guide states in the Intro that it's a companion to their
Interesting but...
This book is not really a guide book. It certainly gives infotmation about gay life and venues in the main countries of South East Asia. It's probably the first book of its kind about this part of the world. And that's already a good reason to buy it. But you must know that most of the book is made out of Internet pages prints. You get some info but also many links, most of which are incomplete. Some travellers comments included are over 2 years old. And after browsing the book, you feel like to go online to get fresh news... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Travel - Foreign    3. ASIA    4. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY    5. Travel / Asia / General