Vietnam: State, war and revolution 1945 - 1946
David G Marr
Amidst the revolutionary euphoria of August 1945, most Vietnamese believed that colonialism and war were being left behind in favour of independence and modernisation. The late September British-French coup de force in Saigon cast a pall over such assumptions. Ho Chi Minh tried to negotiate a mutually advantageous relationship with France, but meanwhile told his lieutenants to plan for a war in which the emerging state might have to survive without allies. In this landmark study, David Marr evokes the uncertainty and contingency as well as coherence and momentum of fast paced events. Mining recently accessible sources in Aix-en-Provence and Hanoi, Marr explains what became the largest, most intense mobilisation of human resources ever seen in Vietnam.
Hard cover, 721 pages.