Passage to Vietnam: Through the Eyes of Seventy Photographers

by Rick Smolan (Editor), Jennifer Erwitt (Editor)

Passage to Vietnam, the result of a remarkable collaboration between East and West, is a fascinating look at an ancient nation caught in the midst of dramatic change. Spectacular photographs and a detailed text present the most intimate and comprehensive look at Vietnam ever assembled. To create this unusual portrait, 70 photographers from fourteen countries were given unprecedented access to a country that is just now emerging from decades of war and isolation.
Magnum photographer Bruno Barbey rode along with thousands of pilgrims down the Swallow River to the Perfume Pagoda. Pulitzer Prize-winner Jay Dickman traveled to the northern highlands, where he photographed the ancient Hmong tribe. And former Life photographer Dick Swanson went back to Vietnam for the first time since the war, photographing its lingering effects on the people of Quang Tri Province.
The photographs are complemented by captions written by Fortune magazine editor Colin Leinster. In addition, noted travel writer Pico Iyer shares his impressions of a country just awakening from twenty years of isolation. Pulitzer Prize-winner Stanley Karnow explores the long struggle the Vietnamese have waged to preserve their homeland. And Vietnam Investment Review correspondent Peter Saidel gives an insider's look at Vietnam as socialism and commerce meet face to face.

Genres: Travel, Photography, Nonfiction, History

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1994

Reviews

[Malvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this beautiful book in a used bookstore in my local library. At first, it was merely a reminiscence since many of the scenes and things captured by those 70 photographers which I also witnessed myself in my childhood, can no longer be seen in Vietnam nowadays.

However, the more time I spend looking at the photos, the more I realize how unique and original they are in the eyes of Western people. Farmers cutting a real bomb; Pedicab hauling a cargo too large that it completely blocks the view; to name a few. What a great collection!

[Margarite Baltruweit · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than 200 candid color photographs take us inside homes and temples, brick and bicycle factories, oil fields, open-air markets and college dorms, profiling a people of restless energy and ancient culture.