With a thorough chronology dating back from 2005 to 258BCE, maps of Vietnam and its changing boundaries and a dictionary that includes both recent and early historical information, this is a well‐organised reference text. It is a beautifully written and carefully composed and it is obvious throughout that the authors are passionate in their knowledge of this enchanting nation.
The series editor's foreword provides information on the broad contents of this dictionary mentioning also the importance of the bibliography as well as detailing the authors' knowledge of and involvement in Vietnam. While it is impossible to include everything about a whole country, especially one such as Vietnam in one book, the authors have taken care to expand on the previous editions of this volume rather than detract from them in order to make room for new insights. As well as an index of acronyms and abbreviations, the Reader's Note provides an explanation of some of the many differences between the Vietnamese and the English language. The Reader's Note also addresses differences in the organization of this edition to previous editions. It gives confidence to the reader that the authors admit the differences between factual history and Vietnamese tradition – again the bibliography provides details of alternative material that could be sought should the reader want more detailed information.
The Introduction is a well‐written opening to all aspects of Vietnamese culture including the complicated geography, the climate and social changes, with the added bonus that it is condensed into 20 pages. Without being patronising, the authors have translated their knowledge into easily readable bite size sections and do not presume that you will have any prior knowledge of the country. As mentioned in the preface, the bibliography has been divided into categories and subcategories to make it easier for the reader to navigate. It is a vast bibliography listing books, official documents and websites used in the research for this book in both the English and French languages.
The only criticism that I would make of this book is that there was no guide to the pronunciation of the Vietnamese words and phrases. And as a non‐Vietnamese speaker I found that I spent a lot of time trying to sound out the words. However, the attention to detail in the translations and the obvious passion and knowledge of the authors on their subjects more than made up for this one minute downfall.
As a dictionary this volume has been very well put together with the reader in mind from the foreword to the appendices. To the general reader it is a comprehensible, informative and interesting volume and I am sure that to the informed reader it will provide a well researched detail on their chosen subject.
