Books about Vietnam

Discover GEEO’s recommended books to read before you travel to Vietnam. Our book club is a way for travelers to learn through literature about the places they’ll visit.

These are some of our favorites about Vietnam, so if you’re heading there, take a look (the GEEO book club is not a required element of our programs, just a bit of added fun)! We hope you will enjoy the books we have selected and they will enhance your experience.

You should be able to find most of our selections through the links below and in your local library system as well. Do you have any feedback on our selections or suggestions for additions? Contact us and let us know!

Recommended books to read before traveling to Vietnam:

Fiction:

• The Beach by Alex Garland (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Headmaster’s Wager by Vincent Lam (Bookshop.org | Amazon)

Nonfiction:

• Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam by Frances FitzGerald (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam by Robert Templer (Bookshop.org | Amazon)

For those looking for more suggestions, here are some other books you may want to consider:

• My Vietnam: Stories and Recipes by Luke Nguyen (Amazon)
• The Gangster We Are All Looking For by Le Thi Diem Thuy (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Ugly American by William J. Lederer (Amazon)
• The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood by Kien Nguyen (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam by Andrew X. Pham (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman’s Journey from War to Peace by Le Ly Hayslip (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Vietnam: A History by Stanley Karnow (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Quiet American by Graham Greene (Bookshop.org | Amazon)

GEEO utilizes both Bookshop.org and Amazon Associates links for the above-suggested books. If you purchase a book through one of the links above, you’re supporting us as a nonprofit and helping more teachers travel through GEEO!