Description

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"Pulsating with energy and steeped in dreams."
Vietnam stands at a crossroads. Located in the geographical center of Southeast Asia, Vietnam is a complex mixture of the ancient and the modern. A Soviet-style legacy contrasts with an emerging Western-style market economy. Vietnam is faced with pressing political, social and economic challenges, and yet it is full of hope and potential.
Here is a first look at Vietnam in the twenty-first century, a nation undergoing rapid change and opening up to the world. Dr. Mark Ashwill paints a broad picture of Vietnam, past and present, and explores today's defining issues. Readers come to understand how a two-thousand-year history of foreign invasion, occupation and war has deeply influenced the Vietnamese character. The Chinese, French and U.S. Americans have all left their imprint. Yet the struggle against oppression has infused the Vietnamese with a fierce spirit of nationalism and caution in their dealings with foreigners.
Building relationships and trust as a prelude to doing business are critical to the Vietnamese, whether at home or abroad. Vietnam Today reveals the most prominent characteristics of the Vietnamese: their energy and drive, the dominance of group over individual and the paramount importance of maintaining harmony. In doing so, Ashwill and his Vietnamese contributor shed light on many sources of misunderstanding between Vietnamese and Western professionals. But for those who are prepared to take the time to get to know the people, to move at their pace, and to learn about their culture and history, Vietnam can be a land of promise and opportunity.

About the Author

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Dr. Mark Ashwill is Director, World Languages Program and Fulbright Program Adviser and Adjunct Professor at SUNY Buffalo. He is also founder and executive director of the U.S.-Indochina Educational Foundation Inc (USIEF). In 2003 Dr. Ashwill became the first US citizen to be awarded the Fulbright Senior Specialists Grant to Vietnam.
Thai Ngoc Diep assisted in researching Vietnam Today. She received her undergraduate degree in Vietnam and a master's degree from SUNY Buffalo. She has worked for the US-Vietnam Trade Council and Ericsson in Vietnam.

Praise For…

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Vietnam Today is an invaluable resource for businesspeople, social scientists, academics and tourists all at once. Ashwill has created a portrait of a misunderstood country and people. Not only does he challenge common perceptions of Vietnam, its citizens and its culture, but he also challenges the reader's own ways of looking at the world.—Christopher Brownlee, President and Co-founder, Vietnamese Adoptee Network

Vietnam Today provides constructive advice to those who wish to build lasting relationships with their Vietnamese counterparts. Most importantly, Vietnam Today helps the reader understand enduring aspects of traditional culture in the context of a country undergoing profound and rapid change.—Patti McGill Peterson, Executive Director, International Exchange of Scholars

Mark Ashwill has provided us with a primer that will help Americans and the world community understand the people, the culture, the history and the spirit of the Vietnamese. This is an important step in helping us understand an emerging country in the world community.—Stephen T. Banko III, Vietnam War Veteran

At last, an introduction to Vietnam that is about a country rather than a war. Ashwill and Diep have built a cultural bridge you will want to cross.—Dr. Allan E. Goodman, President and CEO, Institute of International Education

Vietnam Today is a very balanced primer of history, culture and psychology. A must-read for anyone planning a business trip to Vietnam.—P. Joseph Koessler, Former Strategic Marketing Manager, Coca-Cola Southeast and West Asia Division

With great interest, I read your book from cover to cover. I cried, I laughed, I smiled, my eyes full of silent tears as I read what you wrote. For the first time, I don't get annoyed with a "foreigner" talking about my country and my people.—Nguyen Phuong Mai, reporter, Sinh Vien Viet Nam (Vietnam Student News)