Vietnam. The birth of Vietnamese political journalism: Saigon 1926–1930 . By Philippe M.F. Peycam. New York: Columbia University Press, 2012. Pp. 306, Maps, Notes, Bibliography, Index.

The birth of Vietnamese political journalism: Saigon 1926-1930 By PHILIPPE M.F. PEYCAM New York: Columbia University Press, 2012. Pp. 306, Maps, Notes, Bibliography, Index. doi: 10.1017/S0022463413000258 Philippe Peycam's book on the emergence of political journalism in Saigon during the 1920s is a welcome addition to the scholarly works on Vietnam. For a country that dominated international headlines for decades and continues to haunt politicians and military strategists the world over, large gaps remain in our understanding of Vietnam's modern history. The country's opening since the 1990s has allowed for much greater access to research data, archives and interviews, and steadily we are getting more knowledge and nuanced understanding of the evolution of Vietnamese politics and society of the twentieth century. By focusing on the world of newspapers in the interwar years in Saigon, the commercial heart of not only Vietnam but also of French Indochina's colonial enterprise, the author traces the beginning of the modern political discourse to the conflicting interactions between French liberal ideals and the reality of colonial rule. The south, or Cochinchina, was technically French territory and was governed by French laws, whereas the central region of Annam and the northern region of Tonkin were only protectorates, and as such, were governed by much harsher colonial prescriptions. This distinction gave rise over time to the emergence of a well-educated Vietnamese elite with French citizenship congregating in an increasingly sophisticated metropolis that was Saigon, who had both the political space and the intellectual weapons to question the status quo. They did so through the medium of the newspapers, with the encouragement and support of certain French colonial figures, who saw this as a way to stem the more extreme anti-colonial sentiments. This was a strategy that did work for a time, but it also inevitably opened the door for other Vietnamese, less attached to the benefits of being faithful colonial subjects, to seize such an instrument for greater social and political voice as the world changed around them. The medium of the newspaper was revolutionary in its time for shattering the isolation of individuals and communities by placing them in the context of a larger world, where events were happening simultaneously which could also have enormous impacts on them. Generating the sense of parallel time opened up the world and modernising options, which was even more critical for colonised societies such as Vietnam, struggling to break not only from the traditional past but also from colonial rule. Benedict Anderson's ruminations on this regarding Indonesia remain relevant and inform Peycam's exploration of the significant role early newspapers played in Vietnam's socio-political evolution, including its contribution to the construction of the 'imagined community' that is the nation, overriding existing regionalism that deepened under French colonial rule. Many of Vietnam's best-known writers and journalists found their start in Saigon's stimulating intellectual environment. This pioneering role of Saigon newspapers in the 1920s is known but not well documented or analysed. This book fills that gap, providing interesting details about the individuals, both Vietnamese and French, who took part in these journalistic ventures and brought about the transition of newspapers from simple avenues for conveying information to instruments for socio-political mobilisation. The sociological approach is useful, and it is fascinating to be reminded of the nuances of the social order in a colonial city. …