Romancing Vietnam by Justin Wintle

A Landmark 1991 Journalist Travelogue Inside Post-War Vietnam During Doi Moi

In late 1989, as the Socialist Republic implemented its Doi Moi economic reforms, British journalist Justin Wintle became the first Western writer permitted to travel freely across the entire country. Romancing Vietnam records his three-month journey from the Mekong Delta to Hanoi aboard crowded trains and broken rural buses.

Wintle chronicles strategic cat-and-mouse encounters with government handlers alongside candid interviews with historic figures like General Võ Nguyên Giáp and ordinary rural citizens, documenting a society emerging from isolation.

Why You’ll Love This Book

Justin Wintle balances political analysis with dry humor and acute social reporting. Essential reading for lovers of Southeast Asian history, Vietnamese travelogues, and investigative journalism.