Product Description
This authoritative and wide-ranging history focuses on the period from the founding of modern Laos as a French colony to its independence, involvement in the war in Vietnam, the formation of the communist republic, and the present authoritarian government. The author shows how the nationalist struggle for independence and unity was subverted by foreign intervention, and how the country has now resumed its traditional role as a neutral state in Southeast Asia. This book provides essential background on modern Laos and the challenges it now faces. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A detailed history, but needs updating
Stuart-Fox does a good job providing a one-volume history on Laos. His chapter on the Indochina War is especially good and provides insight into how and why the Communists won. Stuart-Fox frames Lao history in the context of a country that never became a nation. He shows how the lack of national identity hurt Laos at key points in history and allowed the Pathet Lao, the first political group to propose a convincing national identity that included the ethnic minorities, to recruit supporters. He also shows how patronage networks quickly overcame post-independence Lao politics.

Despite the fact that the book is worth getting for Southeast Asia scholars, I gave this book a relatively low rating for two reasons:

First, it almost ignores post-war history. Stuart-Fox does a great job discussing French colonials, independence, and the war, but after that he only addresses current issues in the abstract. For a book published in 2008, it certainly should have addressed modern politics. For example, reading this book, one would not know anything about the current Lao leadership.

Second, the typeface and spacing are small, making the book difficult to read at times.

Fortunately, both of these issues can be easily addressed in a new edition, which I certainly hope comes out.

A good book, but more academic than I was hoping for.
This book is bascially a mid-upper division college text on the development of Modern Laos from the 1800's to the present.A fine book on the recent history of Laos, the author strives to be fair and evenhanded inplacing responsibility for the various troubles plaguing the country. However, I would have liked more general background on the country,especially the history that predated European contact.Only the historynecessary to explain some modern interactions is present from that period.More maps and figures would have been nice as well. Only four maps and nofigures are present, and the author refers to many locations that aren'tlisted explictly on the maps.The type is set rather close as well, makingfor a bit of a strain in reading.That said, the information was well laidout and seemed very well researched.I learned a great deal about thedevelopment of modern Laos.

The definitive modern history
Martin Stuart-Fox has produced a concise, comprehensive account of Lao history, with emphasis on the revolutionary and post-revolutionary eras. Stuart-Fox is arguably the leading English-language expert on the history of Laos, and this work proves it; his book is meticulously researched and skillfully written. ... Read more

Product Description
This comprehensive and vivid history of Laos is an ideal introduction for tourists, business travelers, and students. Informative and portable, it chronicles the history of Laos from ancient times, when the dynastic states of the region waxed and waned, to the turmoil of the Vietnam War and independence from France. This guide investigates these key events under a new light and presents serious challenges to the conventional views about Laos's intriguing history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A quick history of Laos.
A well written account how it all happened and how and why Laos was the catalyst for the America Viet Nam War.

Useful Background for Laos
As someone who is contemplating a work assignment in Laos, this book provides needed background on the cultural and political environment likely to be encountered.In addition to the coverage of people and events, I would have appreciated more elaboration on the typical lifestyles of lowland and upland people of Laos and how that has evolved recently.This was an interesting read, but it felt a bit disjointed at times and the writing does not measure up to the skill of better-known modern historians such as David McCollough and Walter Isaacson.

Comprehensive, insightful, culturally-sensitive
For a newcomer to Laos, Dr. Evans's volume would seem an excellent introduction to its history, politics and culture.For someone like myself, who had his own intense introduction to Laos in the late 60s and looks forward to a return, the book is an insightful refresher and update.It has helped me put my own experience in context and rethink the Laos I once thought I knew.This short history is thoughtful, well-written, and largely devoid of moral judgments.

The subtitle "The Land in Between" sums up an unfortunate reality -- for much of its history Laos has been caught between more powerful neighbors and sometimes their even more powerful patrons.But Evans does not stop with such a facile explanation of the Laos that has emerged.I particularly appreciate his continuing emphasis on the deep and enduring cultural roots of the peoples who inhabit Laos -- and the interplay among them.

With so many Western writers and readers still caught up in the battles that we fought in Laos in the 60s and 70s, Evans's book is a refreshing reminder that Laos merits attention -- indeed fascination -- in its own right. ... Read more

Product Description
Starting in 1960, Hmong guerrilla soldiers, under the command of General Vang Pao, functioned as the hands and feet of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's secret war against communist forces in Laos. Operating out of Long Cheng, the Hmong soldiers allowed the CIA to accomplish two objectives: to maintain the perception of United States neutrality in Laos and to tie up North Vietnamese troops in Laos who would otherwise have been sent to fight in South Vietnam. The U.S. government had quietly pledged to General Vang Pao and the Hmong that the Americans would take care of them in the event that Laos fell. In May 1975, this promise was redeemed when the CIA generated an air evacuation that moved more than 2,500 Hmong officers, soldiers and family members out of their mountain-ringed airbase. Fifty or so Hmong and Americans involved in the evacuation provide herein a firsthand account of the 14-day evacuation and the events leading up to it. Their accounts document both the political and human aspects of this unusual historical event. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Valuable Hmong Historical Record
Having personally experienced the evacuation at Long Cheng on that fateful day in May 1975 (though, missed the plane), this book not only brings back memory but also will serve as a historical reference for generations. This book reveals the struggles and life-changing decisions (whether right or in error) that Hmong leaders had to face, which causes me to appreciate them more.
Khoua|

History at the source
Author Morrison has done a service by compiling a book of recollections about one of the most unknown events of our time: the air evacuation of Hmong General Vang Pao and many of his Hmong soldiers from Laos in May 1975.The Hmong were a staunch and effective American ally against the North Vietnamese and Lao Communists, but went down to defeat along with the Americans.Except for a few Americans, notably Jerry "Hog" Daniels of the CIA, the Hmong would have been abandoned to die in Laos.

Morrison gives little background and explanation for the events of May 1975, but plunges into the story with quotes from the participants, especially the Hmong.There are a number of rare and valuable photographs and good maps.The stories themselves are often priceless, first hand vignettes of history: for example, Gen. Heinie Aderholt's tale of hearing of the evacuation and his forthright -- and irregular -- finding and hiring of a C-46 pilot to fly the Hmong out of Laos.

Much of the material is compiled from the Hmong themselves, whose voices have only barely been heard in America.These were people on our side who deserved better at the bitter end of the Vietnam war.If you're not familiar with the outlines of the story some background reading may be useful.Roger Warner's, "Backfire" (also called "Shooting at the Moon") is good.

Smallchief

Compact, heartbreaking, rare photos
Morrison interviewed a lot of Hmong participants in those last days, as well as American pilots Jack Knotts, Dave Kouba, etc.Eye-opening insight into the abandonment of one of America's most clandestine installations of the secret war in Laos.Detailed accounts of Matt Hoff's and Les Strouse's final flights into 'LS20 Alternate' as well.Some truly rare photos -- Long Tien in 1972, '73, '74, '75.Knotts and Kouba at the evacuation ramp on May 14, 1975, the last day.The Hmong -- from top leader Vang Pao to in-the-street tribespeople, no less proud, and no less tragic.

Finally, a haunting pair of photos --top secret Long Tien in 1973, and another one, as mysterious as ever, from exactly the same angle and height (about 1000 feet above the runway), in 1995.

A compact, tightly-woven and compelling tale.

Sky is falling
I truly enjoyed this book. I came away with a very different point of view. I was directly involved with the evacuation of DaNang, Nha Trang and Saigon in April '75 and to some extent in Loas in May of the same year and saw the refugees, in mass panic carrying babies and what possessions they could, trying to flee before the communists came. Gayle related the evacuation of Long Chen (20A) from the eyes of the Hmong refugees. It is a view that I never saw and hope that I never have to witness again.

Must read for anyone interested in SE Asia '60-'70 history
There will be many people (beside the Hmong) thankful that someone has taken the time to record this important event in history. The book has a distinct niche (human) in my education on the "happenings" in Laos. This is my fifth Laos subject book and is a must read!USAF inThailand '69 veteran. ... Read more

Product Description
This collection of evocative personal testimonies by three generations of Hmong refugees is the first to describe their lives in Laos as slash-and-burn farmers, as refugees after a Communist government came to power in 1975, and as immigrants in the United States. Reflecting on the homes left behind, their narratives chronicle the difficulties of forging a new identity. From Jou Yee Xiong's Life Story: 'I stopped teaching my sons many of the Hmong ways because I felt my ancestors and I had suffered enough already. I thought that teaching my children the old ways would only place a burden on them'. From Ka Pao Xiong's (Jou Yee Xiong's son) Life Story: 'It has been very difficult for us to adapt because we had no professions or trades and we suffered from culture shock. Here in America, both the husband and wife must work simultaneously to earn enough money to live on. Many of our children are ignorant of the Hmong way of life. Even the old people are forgetting about their life in Laos, as they enjoy the prosperity and good life in America'. From Xang Mao Xiong's Life Story: 'When the Communists took over Laos and General Vang Pao fled with his family, we, too, decided to leave.Not only my family, but thousands of Hmong tried to flee. I rented a car for thirty thousand Laotian dollars, and it took us to Nasu. We felt compelled to leave because many of us had been connected to the CIA. Thousands of Hmong were traveling on foot. Along the way, many of them were shot and killed by Communist soldiers. We witnessed a bloody massacre of civilians'. From Vue Vang's Life Story: 'Life was so hard in the [Thai refugee] camp that when we found out we could go to the United States, we did not hesitate to grasp the chance. We knew that were we to remain in the camp, there would be no hope for a better future. We would not be able to offer our children anything better than a life of perpetual poverty and anguish'. Author Sucheng Chan, Professor and Chair of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is general editor of "Temple's Asian American History and Culture Series". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Hmong Means Free
Whether or not the meaning of "Hmong" LITERALLY means "free" or not, I'm SURE, is not what the author is trying to say.

My thoughts
I thought the chineses' called Hmongs "Miao" and the Tais' called Hmongs "Meo." Don't quote me on that, I could be wrong.

Hmong peoples' stories are a bit different than most immigrants that came to the US. They are here because they assisted the US CIA with a "Secret War" against Indochina Communist and fled to the US to escape from death and imprisonment.

I agree that other races faced equal or more horrific conflicts, as well, but to bicker with PMS is a bit over the top. All of the reviews have brought much joy to me. At least there are people thinking deeply about the idea of Hmong and "reading" this cool book.

To the not so cool dude.Get a life!
I have not read this book personally, but the reviews I have read seemed like some of you are a little ticked off. It doesn't matter what "Hmong" really means to you, it's what it means to the author. But all of a sudden, some of you have become experts in the Hmong culture and language.Well send me your email address and I will personally send you a diploma, a B.S. in Hmong culture and language.

Now for the jerk that wrote the last review- The Hmong have put up with all kinds of stereotyping, but to say that they are inferior by looking at the way they live is really a slap in the face. I could say the same thing about the Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, Chinese, or any other Asian groups in this country but I don't.What a person becomes is really up to that individual, so for you to pass judgement on others, especially a group of people, based on your narrow minded pea brain, I nominate you for the "Jerk of the Year" award.

Go get a life and stop ruining mine!

Cried and laughed all at once.
The author's intro was informative but lacks passion (some day, a Hmong author may be able to do a more passionate job on our plight).

The narratives were honest and sincere. There was no "sugar-coating"--I know! The narratives had a single common denominator: the sufferings of the human condition. Throughout the narration, I cried and laughed all at once. I cried: all the sufferings. I laughed: when one of the narratives failed the drivers' written test (in California) the first time because after she took the test, she didn't even realized it was in Spanish until her husband told her--she did not know Spanish.

The book gave me a sense of my history in a personal and down-to-earth way. The book is an excellent reference.

Helping young Hmong Americans find and identity...
I work in the healthcare field and have seen quite a few young (teenage +) Hmong Americans struggling with their sense of value.In particular, a young girl who had been "Americanized" AKA taken from her family when she was young because of supposed abuse - a common practice not that long ago.She was depressed, living with a loving but very white family in which she felt inferior.Asian gang activities in our area made her feel embarrassed.This book put a spark back in her eyes.I found it wonderful and would highly recommend it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Most comprehensive book on Lao Royalty to date.
This is a grand book.

What Grant Evans has done is spectacular. There are many many Lao people that do not know enough about their past, especially their former Royals. For example: Some believe that King Sisavang Vatthana is not the legitimate son of King Sisavangvong because he could no lift up King Sisavangvong's coffin at his funeral, and that the former King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, is the actual son and holder of the throne to the Kingdom of Laos!

This book clears so much up, for the Lao and so many people. It is extensive, over 400 pages. Black and white pictures line many pages, some that could have been lost in time if Grant Evans himself did not replicate them for this book. Most notably, my favorite, the meeting of King Bumibol Adunlyadej of Thailand and King Sisavang Vatthana of Laos, has photos of the two together. It is possibly the only time I have seen pictures of the two monarchs together.

He also interview many people. Princess Manilai, the last Crown Princess of Laos and in line to become Queen of Laos before the Revolution, was interviewed. Others royals that stretch as far as Australia and France were also interviewed.

There is a huge history of many royals in the book. Specifically focusing on the Monarchy, Evans draws a clear history of its role in Laos of the last century. From the Kingdom of Luang Phrabang, to the Kingdom of Laos, it shows the rise and fall of the Luang Phrabang dynasty.

I enjoy the book. I really love the book. The closes thing a Lao person ever sees today about Lao monarchy is perhaps the Thai one. This book gives the reader a vivid picture of the broken Lao past.

Terrific photo essay documentary on the Laos Kingdom
This quite amazing book documents the vestigial remains of the Lao Royalty of the the Laos Kingdom, a land-locked Indo-China country. The book is divided into three parts. The first part contains a brilliant introduction to the obscure Laos kingdom and a summary of key historical events from the mid 18th century to the fall of the Lao Royalty in 1970s. The Laos kingdom was basically a French protectorate which kept at bay the territorial ambitions of the neighbouring kingdoms of Siam and Vietnam.

A middle part includes various essays by other writers (many in French text and nicely translated by the author) and collected here, running parallel to a beautiful selection of photos culled from various sources. The effect of this middle section is a series of vignettes as seen by different observers on their encounter with Lao Royalty.

The final section covers some embroidery and handicraft work. This remains the weakest section as it is not clearly related to the topic at hand. It seems to fill in the author's requirements for documenting anthropology. What would have been more appropriate would have been essays and photos on extant examples of the court costumes, and their historical significance as shown in the period photos. Nevertheless the whole ensemble is a riveting documentation of a little known subject.

This is historical documentation of the first order which appeals to even the general reader. I found this book addictive as it is very nicely produced, with lucid text and excellent photos.
... Read more

Product Description
At the height of the Vietnam War, in 1968 and 1969, Reginald Hathorn flew 229 combat missions as a forward air controller for the U.S. Air Force. He inserted Special Forces teams into North Vietnam and Laos, completed missions for the CIA, and flew missions with the Lao Army. Most of the time, he flew into Laos and called in airstrikes against targets inside that country in a war which did not officially exist, about which the world knew nothing, and which the U.S. government denied. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent read!
Thisis the kind of book that you want to reread!An excellent read.The author makes you feel like you are sitting in the cockpit with him.

Being There
This book is mostly a combat diary, sticking to the day to day events within the author's direct experience.Unlike some diarists, he recreates the feeling of living in the thoughts and experiences of a line combat officer without extended retrospectives on strategy.The prose reveals the author's personality.It is direct without being pedestrian, professional without being obscure, and insightful without editorializing.Pilots will find it interesting as Hathorn fluidly describes sequences of the control inputs as he is manuevering the Cessna O-2 under fire on Forward Air Control missions over Laos.His description of the need to "fly like a drunk" makes sense in the context of the mission.

For those interested in the clandestine nature of the war in Laos, Hathorn's book valuably expands several areas including Igloo White/Muscle Shoals, Prarie Fire and Heavy Hook.While no single comprehensive book has yet been written for this theatre and time, Hathorn gives a great account of the air element that had to coordinate the timing and accuracy of combat air missions and should be part of any library of the Southeast Asia War.

I should add that I was at NKP for 18 months from 1968-1969 with the 56th ACW/SOW and Task Force Alpha.I flew more than 25 missions as a photographer, many with the author's unit, the 23rd TASS.I found few factual recollections that were different from my own.

Tigers here
A well written book. Almost reads like a fast paced novel. I flew Cessna 337s for a while as a civilian. None had reversible propellors. I researched the net, found no O-2s with reversible propellors. The author described a landing in which he used reverse pitch to make the O-2 slow down on the runway. An oversight I'm sure.

This author has the eye of the tiger.
This pilot author has the eye of the tiger, as they say. This book gives a "right hand seat" view of the war that the forward air controllers in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand operations. I would like to recommend this book "Here There are Tigers" The secret air war in Laos, by Reginald Hathorn is an outstanding read. Mr. Hathorn has given us the true taste of what it was like in that Secret war during 1968 and 69. This is the real "McCoy" and the battles were real, the personalities of the characters are real and the stories bring the smell of burnt oil, hot vinyl and sweaty flight suits to the reader in every page.
The FAC pilots had nerves of steel and many others owe our lives to these wonderful men who flew the unfriendly skies of southeast Asia. Thanks Major Hathorn.
The FACs truly were guardian Angels to "zoomie" aviators and the Grunts on the ground. Good Read. No, Great read!! As a author myself I recommend this book with every fiber of my being... ... Read more

Product Description
This poignant collection of oral histories tells the stories of nine Laotians, four Cambodians and nine Vietnamese: what their lives were like before 1975, what happened after the Communist takeover that made them decide to flee their native countries, and how they escaped. The storytellers (housewife, Amerasian child, schoolteacher, government clerk, military officer, security agent, Buddhist monk, artist) create a broad and moving picture of the new realities of contemporary Indochina. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Essential reading
Offers a wealth of information about traditional Vietnamese culture and society...essential reading

In Favor Of Freedom
Stories that American have been reluctant to listen to-non-American participants' stories of the horrors of the Vietnam War itself, of escape from new but undemocratic countries, of conflict-ridden adjustment...personal details about the effects of the war...Scott's collection is prefaced by a dramatic frontispiece, a painting by a Vietnamese artist that depicts boat people on the high seas, titles "A people forced to go a dangerous drama across feats of darkness and turbulent seas in favor of freedom." Collected from Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese in Philippine refugee camps in October 1985 [through] May 1 1986, these twenty-five stories are the testimonies closest in time to many of the events they describes. Scott identifies empathetically with the refugees' search for "the freedom land," as well as with those who failed to come here. In lengthy appendices, she provides maps of the Laotian reeducation camps and memorializing lists of those who have disappeared in them. Pictures of the refugees in the Philippine camps supplement the written stories. Some narratives are told by camp advisors; some are presented by "Name Withheld." While one story was given to Scott "in perfect English," others were told only through an interpreter. Scott presents her subjects' narratives entire, occasionally segmented by asterisks, with provocative titles ("The Hope of Ho Chi Minh Is Fallen Now") and with brief headnotes characterizing the individual or the historical situation. The narratives are occasionally quite long; almost all are organized chronologically... Here is Khamsamong Somvong, a former first lieutenant in the Royal Lao army: "In the seminar camp there were a few men who were Communists. They were there to execute the policy of the Politburo. And it was they who decided who should be killed in the camp. We were supposed to respect the Party only. If one of the Communists said, `This is red,' we had to say, `Yes, this is red.' If we said, `No, this is black,' we would be killed. So I lived a very hard life in there. I saw many people killed before me."--Oral History Review 21/2 (Winter, 1993)

Harrowing Stories
Indochina's refugees, who in jungle death camps felt the chill of the heart or saw life turn cold in crowded boats, give their harrowing stories in this collection

Recommended for Most Libraries
These 22 memoirs focus on life after the Communist victories of 1975 and escape by land or sea. The stories are all from refugees at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center who have not yet reached the United States. They are an older group of survivors from a wide range of backgrounds. Each story is preceded by comments by the author on the storyteller or on life in and outside the Processing Center. Appendices listing the names of inmates in four "seminar" camps in Laos are included. Recommended for most libraries.--Library Journal, August 198

American POWs, the King and Queen of Laos
In this volume, Joanna Scott shares the personal stories of nine Lao, four Khmer, and nine Vietnamese refugees whom she interviewed at the Philippine refugee Processing Center between October 1985 and May 1986. "The one thing they had in common, both with their fellow-countrymen and their fellow Indochinese, was a fervent passion for freedom that overwhelmed their mourning for a lost country." The book is divided into three sections, "Vietnam-Land of the Boat People," "Cambodia-Land of the Killing Fields," and "Laos-Land of the Seminar Camps." The refugees speaking in this book come from all walks of life and include teachers, military officers, a Buddhist monk, a housewife, a farmer, an artist, and a student. Their stories not only relate their personal ordeals in surviving, but also provide their unique perspectives and details about the political situations of their countries. One Lao refugee even reveals information about American POWs still incarcerated in various areas of Vietnam. Another Lao refugee describes the sorry fate of the Lao Royal Family and includes a photograph of the king and queen in a seminar camp. A map of seminar camps in the Viengxay area of northern Laos and four lists (compiled from memory) of those who were incarcerated in the camps are also included in this publication. ... Read more

Product Description
Jane Hamilton-Merritt, Nobel-nominated scholar and photojournalist, has followed the plight of the Hmong and the war in Indochina since the 1960s.The staunchest of allies, the Hmong sided with the Americans against the North Vietnamese and were foot soldiers in the brutal secret war for Laos. Since the war, abandoned by their American allies, the Hmong have been subjected to a campaign of genocide by the North Vietnamese, including the use of chemical weapons. Tragic Mountains moves from the big picture of international diplomacy and power politics to the small villages and heroic engagements in the Lao jungle. It is a story of courage, brutality, heroism, betrayal, resilience, and hope. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

A fine book with many lessons for the present
A well written and solidly researched book.I wish it was more widely read.The Hmong were among the best allies we have ever had.Competent, brave and honest.We screwed them due to a lack of political will.I can't imagine we are having a hard time convincing people to trust us these days.Well worth the read.

flawed, but cuts to the bone
many may say that hamilton-merritt has overlooked many aspects of the hmong role in the complications that occupied laos, but understand that her sole purpose in this book is just that, not wandering off to the opium distribution and character development of all the individuals that she mentions in the book, particularly vang pao. not a huge fan of the general, being a privileged hmong myself, but hamilton-merritt doesn't bullsh-- here. the only flaws i find here is that she is inconsistent with the traditional way of putting the family names before surnames, but its so minor, i could easily overlook it if was as ignorant as the unappreciative few who previously reviewed this book. who, with a knife to their "carotid artery", care if the hmong were, if not primary, major sources of opium/heroine. for those who exclaim that it was not used as medicine must choke their one words back down their trachea to their bronchioles because it was indeed harvested for medicine abused by those foreigners. hamilton-merritt tells it how it is, focusing on one subject--the forgotten people and their efforts to [preserve] their beloved lands of indochina. rememeber, she's no anthropologist as this book is not a history of the Hmong and not a study of their culture. it's no biography either. read it for what it is--the secret wars of laos. with over 14 years of research, massive piles of documented interviews and research (and i must mention, NOT everyone can research, it's a fact), certainly all that she has compiled truly has paid off and shall be justified--tragic mountains is a book well written with the deepest concern and passion that any competent human being can gather with the ulitimate of potential. sometimes those far too educated have their mentality beaten down to nothing greater than a grain of sand that they don't have the intelligence to obtain wisdom from knowledge to understand and embrace such a masterpiece. i applaud hamilton-merritt and pray for god to bless her.

Tragic Mountains an international tragity
Thisis a detailed and fair review of what happened in Laos during the Vietnam War and the effect of National policy on separate people

The Hmong, the Americans and secret wars
This is a documentary about unsung heros who paid a deal price working for the Americans from the 40s and on. They were being hired to stop communism working with the French in the 40-50s. As the tide of North Vietnamese infiltration into South Vietnam turned, Vang Pao, a former French colonial officier was put in charge of covert operations working for CIA in the little known secret war in Laos. The book went into details on how much sacrifice the Hmong people made to please Americans.
They gave up just about everything to wage an American war and learned their American sponsors who abandoned them after 1975. Similar to CIA's involvement in Cuba the Hmong fighters who were abandoned had to flee their country. This time they had to accept either slughter or content with refugee camp life in Thailand. The author, Jane Hamilton-Merritt, produced horror pictures and sketches of the effect of chemical-biological toxins on the people and the atrocities committed by the communists. Through some unorganized chapters Jane lost her enthusium and called it quits up to 1992. This may be the weakest part of the fine documentary.

As more and more Hmong immigrants are leaving the refugee camps and re-settled in many parts of the world, we need to understand their heritage and believes. Unlike the Indo-chinese refugees coming into the US who are mostly city dwellers, the Hmong have for 4,000 years able to attain a certain degree of identity/freedom. This is in a way like the Native Americans who do not wish to be fully assimilated. We need to respect and help the Hmong people by not imposing the same attitude as we have done on other immigrants. We also need to understand the cultural and habits of those who fought so hard for the Americans. Unlike other enthnic cultures, this is a hard to find book on the war history of Hmong people in Laos.

the truth? not really...
this book has some truth...but woopti doo... anyone can research...but until you were actually there...you'll never know.
If you are Hmong and you read hamiltons book and you beleive all that is said, you need help....HA just kidding... but you do need to go to a HMONG SOURCE, someone that was there, fighting in the war, and leading the Hmong people to freedom, to find out what really happened, not rely on someone who wants to make a buck off our culture. Please do not think i'm trying to sound better than anyone, all i'm saying is that the world deserves to know the truth about the Hmongs and how MAJORLY significant we were to the "war".We have been sworn in as an ethnic group recently, but now we also need to map the Hmong into American History for all to learn about. This is not about Hmong pride, this is about education...Again, this book has some truth... but...stay tuned and the truth will soon be out. ... Read more

Product Description
The existence of Laos today is taken for granted. But the crystallization of a Lao national idea and ultimate independence for the country was a long and uncertain process. This book examines the process through which Laos came into existence under French colonial rule through to the end of World War II. Rather than assuming that the Laos we see today was an historical given, the book looks at how Laos' position at the intersection of two conflicting spatial layouts of 'Thailand' and 'Indochina' made its national form a particularly contested process.This, however, is not an analysis of nation-building from the perspective of administrative and political structures. Rather, the book charts the emergence of a notion of a specifically Lao cultural identity that served to buttress Laos as a separate 'Lao space', both in relation to Siam/Thailand and within French Indochina. Based on an impressive variety of primary sources, many of them never before used in studies of Lao nationalism, this book makes a significant contribution to Lao historical studies and to the study of nation-building in Southeast Asia. ... Read more

Product Description
"Gathering Leaves and Lifting Words" examines modern and pre-modern Buddhist monastic education traditions in Laos and Thailand. Through five centuries of adaptation and reinterpretation of sacred texts and commentaries, Justin McDaniel traces curricular variations in Buddhist oral and written education that reflect a wide array of community goals and values. He depicts Buddhism as a series of overlapping processes, bringing fresh attention to the continuities of Theravada monastic communities that have endured despite regional and linguistic variations. Incorporating both primary and secondary sources from Thailand and Laos, he examines pre-modern inscriptional, codicological, anthropological, art historical, ecclesiastical, royal, and French colonial records. He traces how pedagogical techniques found in pre-modern palm-leaf manuscripts are pervasive in modern education by looking at modern sermons, and even television programmes and websites. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Lao," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Lao in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Lao when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Lao, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

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This book is part of the Our Name in History series, a collection of fascinating facts and statistics, alongside short historical commentary, created to tell the story of previous generations who have shared this name.The information in this book is a compendium of research and data pulled from census records, military records, ships' logs, immigrant and port records, as well as other reputable sources. Topics include:

• Name Meaning and Origin
• Immigration Patterns and Census Detail
• Family Lifestyles
• Military Service History
• Comprehensive Source Guide, for future research

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Lao," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Lao in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Lao when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Lao, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

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Chiefly political; covers the period 1954-1975. ... Read more