Before the Revolution - (Morningside Book) by Ngo Vinh Long (Paperback)

About the Book

During the French colonial period (1900-1945), Vietnamese peasants wrote vigorously about the effects of French policies on their living conditions. The vast majority of their writings were censored or contradicted by the published works of French and Vietnamese officials, and none is currenty in print.

Ngo Vinh Long presents a realistic portrait of the Vietnamese determination and resiliency that brought down both the French and the American regimes. He describes the effects of French land policy on the peasants and the resulting problems in tenant farming and sharecropping, as well as peasant reaction to taxes, tax collections, usury, government agarian credit programs, commerce, and industry. He also translates previously unavailable texts that detail the emotions of the Vietnamese people with regard to the French occupation. For the Morningside Edition, Dr. Long has written a new preface in which he describes new scholarship and changes during the last fifteen years.

Book Synopsis

During the French colonial period (1900-1945), Vietnamese peasants wrote vigorously about the effects of French policies on their living conditions. The vast majority of their writings were censored or contradicted by the published works of French and Vietnamese officials, and none is currenty in print.

Ngo Vinh Long presents a realistic portrait of the Vietnamese determination and resiliency that brought down both the French and the American regimes. He describes the effects of French land policy on the peasants and the resulting problems in tenant farming and sharecropping, as well as peasant reaction to taxes, tax collections, usury, government agarian credit programs, commerce, and industry. He also translates previously unavailable texts that detail the emotions of the Vietnamese people with regard to the French occupation. For the Morningside Edition, Dr. Long has written a new preface in which he describes new scholarship and changes during the last fifteen years.

From the Back Cover

'Before the Revolution' describes in detail the devastating effects of French co.only rule on the Vietnamese peasant. Using previously untranslated material by Vietnamese writers Ngo Ving Long shows the impact of colonial rule in terms of human misery and suffering.

Review Quotes

An excellent book, essential reading for an understanding of modern Vietnam. . . . The indispensable translations are not available in English in any other form.

About the Author

Ngo Vinh Long is assistant professor of history at the University of Maine. Born in Vinh Long province, he came to the U.S. in 1964 and was educated at Harvard. He has published over twenty-five articles on economic, social, and historical topics in The Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars and other journals.