{"title":"Tuttle","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"a-brief-history-of-vietnam-by-bill-hayton","title":"A Brief History of Vietnam by Bill Hayton","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis accessible guide is your one-stop shop for discovering Vietnamese history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA Brief History of Vietnam explores the fascinating, turbulent history of a land that has risen from the ashes of war to become a leading economic power. This book expertly examines the history of a people and a nation with ancient roots but which only took its current shape in the 19th century under French colonial rule and its current name in 1945.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBefore that landmark year, Vietnam was known by many names, under many rulers. Located in the geographical center of Southeast Asia, the country we call \"Vietnam\" was ruled by China, a series of Vietnamese emperors, and the French. 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Korean culture developed on a 600-mile-long peninsula, bordered on the north by mountains and three sides by the sea, set apart from the Asian mainland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKorea was one of the last countries in Asia to be visited by Westerners and its borders have remained largely unchanged since it was unified in the seventh century. Though it is one of the world's oldest and most ethnically homogeneous states, Korea was not born in a vacuum. Geographically isolated, the country was heavily influenced by powerful China and was often used as a bridge to the mainland by Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCalling themselves as \"a shrimp among whales,\" Koreans borrowed elements of government, culture and religion all the while fiercely fighting to maintain independence from powerful neighbors. This fascinating book tells the story of Korean domestic dynasties, empires and states, as well as foreign conquest, occupation and division. 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