Heonik Kwon, "Ghosts of War in Vietnam," (Cambridge University Press, 2013)

This is a fascinating study of the Vietnamese experience and memory of the Vietnam War through the lens of popular imaginings about the wandering souls of the war dead. These ghosts of war play an important part in postwar Vietnamese historical narrative and imagination and Heonik Kwon explores the intimate ritual ties with these unsettled identities which still survive in Vietnam today as well as the actions of those who hope to liberate these hidden but vital historical presences from their uprooted social existence. Taking a unique approach to the cultural history of war, he introduces gripping stories about spirits claiming social justice and about his own efforts to wrestle with the physical and spiritual presence of ghosts. Although these actions are fantastical, this book shows how examining their stories can illuminate critical issues of war and collective memory in Vietnam and the modern world more generally. Keywords: Vietnam War cultural history Wandering souls of Vietnam War dead Heonik Kwon war ghosts study Vietnamese war memory and rituals Spirits and social justice in Vietnam Postwar Vietnamese historical narratives Vietnam War collective memory Rituals for wandering souls in Vietnam Ghosts of war in Vietnamese culture Vietnam War spiritual aftermath Cultural impact of war in Vietnam Vietnamese folklore and war ghosts Vietnam's postwar spiritual practices War ghosts and social identity in Vietnam Healing historical trauma in Vietnam War dead spirits and historical justice Vietnamese ritual traditions for the dead Modern world perspectives on war ghosts Spiritual presence in war narratives East Asian Studies Podcast Southeast Asian Studies Podcast Vietnamese War War History War and Memory Local Religion Ghosts and Spirits Vietnamese Religious History