Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War (1945-1954)

Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War (1945-1954)

An International and Interdisciplinary Approach

Christopher E. Goscha

Goscha book cover

Available from NIAS Press worldwide except North America
ISBN Hardback: 978 87 7694 063 8, £100 (June 2011)
ISBN Paperback: 978 87 7694 165 9, £30 ()

* First dictionary in English of the Indochina War (1945–54).
* More than a simple military or political history of the conflict.
* Adopts a path-breaking dual international and interdisciplinary approach to explore social, cultural, and economic themes underpinning the conflict.
* Demonstrates the remarkable international context of what previously was regarded a simple Franco-Vietnamese war of decolonization.

This first historical dictionary in English of the Indochina War (1945–54) provides the most comprehensive account to date of one of the most important conflicts of the twentieth century. Using over 1,600 personally researched and crafted entries, Goscha provides in-depth, expert coverage of the Indochina War in all its dimensions. A succinct historical introduction frames the dictionary. Rather than settling for a strictly politico-military account of the war, the author adopts a path-breaking dual international and interdisciplinary approach. Thus, readers will not only find information on politics and military campaigns; they will also discover the remarkable impact this war had on intellectual, social, cultural, economic and artistic domains in France, Indochina and elsewhere. Indeed, rather than limiting the dictionary to the French and their Vietnamese adversaries, Goscha explores the internationalization of this conflict from its beginning in September 1945 at Ba Dinh square in Hanoi to its end around the Cold War conference table in Geneva in July 1954. Similarly, while most authors focus on the French Fourth Republic and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the two main protagonists in this conflict, Goscha makes it clear that a myriad of other non-communist Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian nationalists were deeply involved in this war and its outcome. In addition to its 1,600 entries, the dictionary contains a succinct historical introduction, selected bibliography, maps, illustrations, and tables. A massive work of outstanding scholarly quality and lasting value, this is a reference tool that will be invaluable for researchers, students and anyone else interested to better understand the complexity of this tragic conflict.
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Christopher Goscha is Associate Professor of International Relations and Southeast Asian History at the Université du Québec à Montréal. He has published widely on cultural, social, political, and diplomatic aspects of colonial Indochina and the wars for modern Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.


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by David Chandler, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
From journal:
Pacific Affairs, Vol. 86, No. 2

"This richly textured, magisterial volume draws on an impressive range of Vietnamese, French and English-language archival and secondary sources.

"This richly textured, magisterial volume draws on an impressive range of Vietnamese, French and English-language archival and secondary sources.

(…) It should be clear from what I’ve written that anyone interested in the First Indochina War, or the Second for that matter, will need to consult this definitive, beautifully organized chef d’oeuvre (…). Anyone writing about the period will probably need to consult it on a daily basis."

by P. Brush, Vanderbilt University
From journal:
Choice, Vol. 49, No. 11

“… this very useful, high-quality publication is a
valuable acquisition for all libraries with reference collections in modern Asian history. Summing Up: Highly
recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers.”

“… this very useful, high-quality publication is a
valuable acquisition for all libraries with reference collections in modern Asian history. Summing Up: Highly
recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers.”

by Richard A. Ruth, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis
From journal:
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 44, No. 2

"Christopher E. Goscha’s Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War (1945-1954) is a landmark achievement. It expands the existing scholarly parameters of the conflict and provides a new model for what a historical dictionary can – and probably should – be.

"Christopher E. Goscha’s Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War (1945-1954) is a landmark achievement. It expands the existing scholarly parameters of the conflict and provides a new model for what a historical dictionary can – and probably should – be. The entries – including people, concepts, events, places, agreements, and government entities – constitute the most thorough collection of information about the Indochina War assembled in any volume. Collectively they offer readers an authoritative and well-written narrative by one of the few scholars of Southeast Asian history who has the Western and Asian language skills to produce a work of this breadth.

…Goscha’s dictionary fills the gap in available sources about the war. Not only is it the first English-language historical dictionary of a conflict commonly known in Vietnam War studies as ‘the French war’, it offers a comprehensive approach that transcends the narrow foci of works produced in France and Vietnam.

[…]in the case of Goscha’s Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War, the resulting product lands squarely on the side of magnificence."

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