Haydon Cherry's Down and Out in Saigon is a social and economic history of the poor in colonial Saigon during the 1904–40 period, examined through the lives of six individuals. It is also much more than a history of the poor. In asking the why and how of the evolution of the six lives toward temporary or long-term destitution, the layers of rich context that Cherry provides offer remarkably keen insights into the conditions of everyday life in Saigon and in the provinces the individuals hailed from (all were born outside Saigon, two abroad). Cherry skillfully analyzes the cases both synchronically—by revealing vividly portrayed slices of daily life, including the workings of colonial institutions—and diachronically—by examining change wrought through historical patterns and events such as rice export, urban development, migration trends, disease outbreaks, and the Great Depression. The social and economic historical approach is particularly valuable given the still-lopsided historiography...

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