A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Duong Van Mai Elliott's The Sacred Willow illuminates recent Vietnamese history by weaving together the stories of the lives of four generations of her family. Beginning with her great-grandfather, who rose from rural poverty to become an influential landowner, and continuing to the present, Mai Elliott traces her family's journey through an era of tumultuous change. She tells us of childhood hours in her grandmother's silk shop, and of hiding while French troops torched her village, ...
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A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Duong Van Mai Elliott's The Sacred Willow illuminates recent Vietnamese history by weaving together the stories of the lives of four generations of her family. Beginning with her great-grandfather, who rose from rural poverty to become an influential landowner, and continuing to the present, Mai Elliott traces her family's journey through an era of tumultuous change. She tells us of childhood hours in her grandmother's silk shop, and of hiding while French troops torched her village, watching while blossoms torn by fire from the trees flutter "like hundreds of butterflies" overhead. She makes clear the agonizing choices that split Vietnamese families: her eldest sister left her staunchly anti-communist home to join the Viet Minh, and spent months sleeping in jungle camps with her infant son, fearing air raids by day and tigers by night. And she follows several family members through the last, desperate hours of the fall of Saigon-including one nephew who tried to escape by grabbing the skid of a departing American helicopter. Based on family papers, dozens of interviews, and a wealth of other research, this is not only a memorable family saga but a record of how the Vietnamese themselves have experienced their times.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Very Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp.
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Seller's Description:
Like New in Near Fine jacket. An unprecedented look at Vietnam history through the eyes of one Vietnamese family. B/w photos & illus. *** 506pp. *** Index, biblio. *** 1st ed.
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Seller's Description:
Very good, very good. 506, illus., maps, bibliography, index, DJ somewhat worn and soiled. A Vietnamese-American woman provides an extraordinary narrative woven from the lives of four generations of her family, from her great-grandfather's activities as a mandarin to her sister's joining of the Viet Minh. This unforgettable family saga is a unique achievement--the first book to show us what Vietnamese history has meant to the Vietnamese themselves.
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Seller's Description:
Missing Dust Cover-Pages and hard cover are intact. Used book in good conditions. Limited notes and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on corners and edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. Ships directly from Amazon.
