Fifty years ago on April 30, 1975, the Vietnam War ended when a T-54 tank of the North Vietnamese forces crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon, the capital of the Republic of South Vietnam. After over 20 years of fighting between the communist government of North Vietnam against the government of South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States, the conflict was over, resulting in an estimated death toll of over 3 million civilians and soldiers, of which 58,300 were United States service members.
The Fall of Saigon led the United States to evacuate about 130,000 South Vietnamese refugees in the ensuing weeks. The remaining 2.6 million people were left to endure communist policies that made daily lives harsh and the future grim. Over the next several years, many Vietnamese people abandoned their homeland out of fear and desperation in search of a brighter future; many crammed into small fishing boats, risking the dangers of vast rough oceans, starvation, and violent pirates to reach the Philippines or Malaysia. Others trekked through dense jungles full of predatory animals, thugs, and mercenaries to reach Cambodia or Laos. Some perished on their grueling long journey. However, many of these refugees eventually ended up settling in countries like France, Canada, Australia, and, like my family, here in the United States — where new beginnings, freedom, and opportunities are granted to all. Today, the Vietnamese diaspora has grown to a population of over 4 million people, over half of whom live in the United States.
The Boston Public Library not only owns a large collection of materials relating to the history of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, but also many books written by the first and second generations of Vietnamese refugees. In recognizing the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the massive migration of the Vietnamese people as a result, here are some recommendations of recent titles written by the Vietnamese diaspora:
Check out these recent fiction and nonfiction titles written by Vietnamese American writers.
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