Chasing the tigers

by Murray Hiebert

At a time when the United States and Vietnam are establishing new ties, Chasing the Tigers offers key insights into the realities of today's Vietnam. Drawing on his ten-plus years of reporting from Hanoi for the Far Eastern Economic Review, Murray Hiebert employs in-depth interviews with Vietnamese businessmen, civil servants, factory workers, and farmers to paint a multifaceted portrait of this emerging nation. Hiebert deftly dramatizes the country's successes, especially in light industry and agriculture, but also highlights its weaknesses, including a shortage of well-trained managers, inadequate infrastructure, and legal obstacles to foreign investment. He also traces the recent historical background that has led Vietnam to where it is today. Most importantly, Chasing the Tigers discusses Vietnam's current trend toward doi moi (an open economy and society). Hiebert examines the impact of economic liberalization on Vietnamese society and on the authoritarian regime, providing reader