The perfect comprehensive starting point for anyone looking to conduct research on Ho Chi Minh City, this historical dictionary is ideal for those who want to know more about the city's history and development.

Vietnam became part of French Indochina in 1887 and did not regain its independence again until after the Vietnam War. However, despite a relatively peaceful two decades the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies. In an effort to change this stagnation, Vietnamese authorities have committed to economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The third edition of this dictionary focuses on the recent changes and leadership of Vietnam while giving due attention to the earlier kingdoms, the period of French Indochina, the wars for liberation, the Vietnam War, and much more. Hundreds of cross-referenced A to Z dictionary entries are included on political, economic, social and cultural aspects as well as the major cities and geographic features. This book also contains a chronology and introduction that traces Vietnam's history, as well as a bibliography.

Offering a concise overview of Ho Chi Minh City’s history and development, the ‘Historical Dictionary of Ho Chi Minh City’ presents a comprehensive historical survey of the city in the form of an alphabetical list of keywords and names, with accompanying definitions. Both well-researched and authoritative, the volume draws upon a wide range of modern sources, and contains an introductory essay about the city, a chronology, a list of acronyms and abbreviations, photographs and appendixes of supplemental information.

During the eighteenth century, the Cambodian settlement of Prey Nokor became the Vietnamese port of Saigon which in turn emerged as one of the largest settlements in the Vietnamese Empire. Captured by the French in 1861, it developed into the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina. An increasingly wealthy port, its population became increasingly politicised and in 1955, Saigon became the capital of the Republic of Vietnam. In 1976, Hanoi became the capital of the new Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with Saigon being renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Now a popular tourist destination, many of the sites dating from the French period and the Vietnam War survive with the city authorities taking an increasing interest in architectural heritage. This book is wholly updated and considerably expanded from the Historical Dictionary of Ho Chi Minh City, including more than 550 illustrations and photographs, many in colour, and city maps. With entries on the major places, institutions and people who had an important role in the history and the cultural life of the city, it remains an indispensable guide to scholars and researchers.

Saigon (since 1976, officially Hồ Chi Minh City but widely still referred to as Saigon) is the largest metropolitan area in modern Vietnam and has long been the country's economic engine. This is the city's complete history, from its humble beginnings as a Khmer village in the swampy Mekong delta to its emergence as a major political, economic and cultural hub. The city's many transitions through the hands of the Chams, Khmers, Vietnamese, Chinese, French, Japanese, Americans, nationalists and communists are examined in detail, as well as the Saigon-led resistance to collectivization and the city's central role in Vietnam's perestroika-like economic reforms.