Lao Dong Newspaper reporter had an interview with Ms. Nguyen Thuy Hang Giang - Deputy Director of Dong A Culture Joint Stock Company, representative of the author group of this project.
History of Vietnam in Pictures" is a 17-year project with a huge volume of materials. Can you share the process of making the book?
- This is a project that Dong A has cherished for a long time. The implementing group has traveled to nearly 60 countries to search for documents and images. The result is a publication of about 600 pages, with more than 2,000 historical documentary images. However, what we aim for is not only the scale of the book, but the way of recounting history in images. We want history to become more visual and accessible, especially for students and history lovers.
What is the significance of the National Book Award A for the group of authors after such a long journey?
- This is a project with the participation of many collaborators. Most collaborators are working in Ho Chi Minh City.
The National Book Award A prize is a very important recognition for a project that we have invested in for a long time. But what makes us the happiest is that the book has been positively received by many readers, especially students and teachers. Many people believe that the way of expressing it in images makes learning history easier and more attractive.
Readers' reception is the motivation for us to continue pursuing historical book projects in the coming time.
Recently, the book has been translated into English to introduce to international friends. What do the authors expect from this publication?
- In 2025, we completed the translation of the book "History of Vietnam in Pictures" into English, and the English edition was launched in early 2026. Hopefully, the English version will contribute to spreading Vietnamese history to the world, helping international readers better understand the history and culture of our country.
Right during the launch, the book was also introduced at Codex - an international book fair in the US.
Of course, bringing Vietnamese books abroad is not an easy path. Currently, we mainly introduce books at international fairs and exhibitions, and the signing of copyright transfer contracts is still quite limited. However, we hope that in the near future, more Vietnamese works will be published abroad.
This year, 2 books won the A Prize of the National Book Award, both on historical topics. How do you assess the trend of reading history books of Vietnamese readers, especially young people today?
- In my opinion, this is a very encouraging sign. Currently, many young people are more open to topics about history and heritage.
History books are sometimes still difficult to access if the content is too focused on words and academics. Therefore, when the book "Vietnamese History in Pictures" was born with more than 2,000 images, many readers, especially students, were very excited.
Documentary images help readers "see" history visually. For us, the fact that the book can reach young people is the happiest thing, because that is also the goal we aimed for from the beginning.
In the context of strong e-book development, are you worried that this will affect traditional printed books?
- In my opinion, e-books are just a convenient form of reading on digital platforms, not a threat to printed books.
However, not every book is suitable for switching to ebooks or audiobooks. With books with many images and elaborately presented such as "History of Vietnam in Pictures", switching to digital format is very difficult to fully express the value of the book.
Therefore, with publications like this, we still prioritize printed books to ensure the best experience for readers.
