Reaching the other side

Abstract

To talk about Vietnam now is to get caught in a flurry of accusations and counter accusations, from the Chinese and Kampucheans, the Western press, and the Vietnamese themselves. At a time when Vietnam is entangled in military disputes and deepening party disputes with its socialist neighbors, it may seem anachronistic to go back and relive the spring days of 1975 when, after decades of war, Vietnam was euphorically reunited and freed from foreign invaders. One is tempted to read into those momentous days a foreshadowing of the conflicts to come. There is another reason to review Vietnam's spring liberation, however, and the reason goes beyond the fact that a good book has been written about the subject. Central to current disputes about Vietnam is an assessment of the meaning and practice of socialist transformation. Reaching the Other Side, by Earl S. Martin, is an eyewitness account of the earliest days of socialist Vietnam's postwar transition. In the pages of Martin's book, concrete form is given to the dreams and difficulties facing the newly reunited Vietnam. Martin offers a quiet, detailed account of the socialist government's early answers to those challenges.