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Saigon has a long and unique history, having been a Cambodian city, a French city, and an American city, as well as a Vietnamese city. Many foreigners have resided or travelled there since as early as the seventeenth century, drawn by its strategic position in the fertile Mekong Delta, its economic possibilities, and, in the case of missionaries, its potential converts. This anthology brings together some seventy extracts about the city, by characters as diverse as 17th century missionaries, 19th century businessmen, famous novelists, and Vietnamese martyrs. Several of these extracts have never previously been published, and many appear in English for the first time. Among the authors represented are Graham Greene, John Pilger, Colin Thubron, Somerset Maugham, and Osbert Sitwell. Among the pieces included are a description of a lion fight held by a legendary eunuch who ruled Saigon in the 19th century, an anecdote about one of Saigon's most famous courtesans, and extracts from the private diaries of the wife of an American ambassador to Saigon during the Vietnam war.
This anthology tells the story of Saigon's evolution from a small village in a forest, via its long colonisation by the French and briefer colonisation by the Americans, to the fiercely Vietnamese city it is today.
