"The primary theme of this work is the enduring spirit of the Vietnamese. The author's focus is on the Vietnamese people and their social, political, economic, and religious structures. More than any other Southeast Asian country, Vietnam experienced multiple intrusive and lengthy periods of colonial rule by foreign powers; yet, Vietnam should be understood and defined by its indigenous social patterns. So, while the book clearly delineates the influences of France, Japan, and the United States on Vietnamese society, these foreign influences remain the "thin, flaking glaze" over what is an indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese indigenous culture. The mid 1970s end of the Vietnam War was in many ways a beginning for a unified Vietnam. Failed policies during the last quarter of the twentieth century trapped Vietnam in a cycle of poverty and foreign wars. Its economic emergence at the start of the twenty-first century is just one more testimony to the resilience of the Vietnamese"--