Norman Lewis
A Dragon Apparent, Travels in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
A classic account of travels and adventure during the last years of French Indochina, strong on atmosphere with wonderfully detailed descriptions of local cultures and archaeological treasures. First published in 1951.
Footprint Guides
Footprint Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos
With practical information on attractions, transportation, food,
activities, and lodgings. Includes Bangkok.
Tom Vater
Moon Angkor Wat
Drawing on his long association with Cambodia, Vater covers all the practicalities of visiting Angkor, Siem Reap, Battambang and Phnom Penh in this slim guide.
Nelles
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Map
A great folded map of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia at a scale of 1:1,500,000. With inset maps for Central Vientiane, Hanoi, Luang Prabang, Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
Eyewitness Guides
Eyewitness Guide Vietnam and Angkor Wat
Featuring innovative site diagrams, local maps and hundreds of color photographs, this handy companion introduces the culture, history and attractions of Vietnam.
Nguyen Xuanthu
Lonely Planet Vietnamese Phrasebook
A handy palm-sized guide to pronunciation, grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler.
Kim Fay
Communion, A Culinary Journey Through Vietnam
Fay recounts in savory detail a five-week journey with two friends from Hanoi to Saigon in search of the traditions, rituals and pleasures of food from local markets and street foods to haute cuisine.
David Chandler
A History of Cambodia
An excellent, scholarly history from early civilization through the rise of Angkor, French colonial period, Vietnamization of Cambodia, Khmer Rouge and Coup de Force of 1997.
Joel Brinkley
Cambodia’s Curse, The Modern History of a Troubled Land
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Joel Brinkley returns to Cambodia a generation after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime to report on the country’s continuing struggle to recover from its past.
Frances FitzGerald
Fire in the Lake
A classic historical, political and cultural portrait of the Vietnam War, seen through the eyes of the Vietnamese. Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, FitzGerald, a staff writer at the New Yorker and a reporter in Vietnam, presents a vivid image of a revolution and a clear-sighted case for why the
U.S offensive was doomed from the start.
Bill Hayton
Vietnam, Rising Dragon
The veteran BBC newsman covers the tangled politics, rapidly changing economy, culture, history and people of Vietnam with great insight in this timely portrait of a nation in transition.
Helen Ibbitson Jessup
Art & Architecture of Cambodia
Jessup includes not just Angkor Wat and Banteay Srei but also lesser-known recent discoveries in the surrounding jungle in this illustrated overview in the World of Art series.
Fiona Kerlogue
Arts of Southeast Asia
A handsome guide to the art, architecture, textiles and crafts of Southeast Asia.
Milton Osborne
The Mekong, Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future
A cultural history of the great river from prehistory to European exploration, colonial tensions and modern challenges. It’s an engaging introduction to the history of Southeast Asia.
Bruno Dagens
Angkor, Heart of an Asian Empire
An excellent guide to the site, this shirt-pocket encyclopedia of discovery features hundreds of color photographs, illustrations and maps.
Andrew X. Pham
The Eaves of Heaven, A Life in Three Wars
Pham recounts the story of his father’s life during the French occupation, Japanese invasion and the American War, weaving such momentous events with anecdotes from his childhood and details of family, friends, food and daily life.
Stephen T. Asma
The Gods Drink Whiskey
Asma writes with verve and wit in this eye-opening account of his year-long stint teaching at the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh. His account is both an overview of Theravada Buddhism and a down-to-earth portrait of contemporary Cambodia.
Duong Van Mai Elliott
The Sacred Willow, Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family
This vivid family saga, beginning with the author’s great- grandfather, captures the momentous history of Vietnam over the last 100 years.
Graham Greene
The Quiet American
A classic, this is the most famous Western work of fiction on Vietnam. Greene writes of a love triangle between a war correspondent, his Vietnamese consort and an optimistic young American during the last days of French rule.
Bao Ninh
The Sorrow of War, A Novel of North Vietnam
A powerful novel by a former North Vietnamese soldier, this short book captures the appalling conditions of war, alternating vivid scenes from the front lines with flashbacks from the protagonist’s rural youth.
Tim O’Brien
The Things They Carried
National Book Award-winner O’Brien captures the daily life of a soldier in Vietnam in this loosely structured, powerful collection of stories.
John Balaban, Nguyen Qui Duc
Vietnam, A Traveler’s Literary Companion
From rainforest to city, these 17 stories from Vietnam’s finest writers explore its landscapes, myths and changing traditions.
Craig Robson
Birds of Southeast Asia
This authoritative, masterfully illustrated guide, featuring 140 color plates covering 1,270 species throughout the region, includes Malaysia, Burma, Borneo and Indonesia.