HCM CITY — A new book highlighting the sports and printed press history of HCM City was launched yesterday.

The overseas Vietnamese author Nguyễn Đức Hiệp wrote Sài Gòn – Chợ Lớn, Thể Thao Và Báo Chí Trước 1945 (Sài Gòn – Chợ Lớn: Sports and Printed Press Before 1945).

The book is a part of a series about old HCM City, formerly known as Sài Gòn. The book series also includes Sài Gòn – Chợ Lớn: Qua Những Tư Liệu Quý Trước 1945 (Sài Gòn – Chợ Lớn, History As Described from Documents Before 1945) and Sài Gòn – Chợ Lớn, Ký Ức Đô Thị và Con Người (Sài Gòn – Chợ Lớn, Memories of A City and Its People), which were both published earlier by the Culture, Literature and Arts Publishing House.

The first two books were mainly composed of material Hiệp published online and in various journals over the past six years of research.

"The new book was written during the beginning of this year to cover two subjects: sports history, which often does not attract much interest; and printed press and journalism, which were extensively studied in academia and popular literature. Hiệp researched valuable special sources. It makes his book distinctive from others,” Huỳnh Thị Xuân Hạnh, director of the publishing house, said.

“I told him to write more three books about HCM City which will be launched at the end of this year”.

Hiệp was born in HCM City and showed a keen interest in its history from an early age. He later moved to Australia to study engineering and environmental sciences.

He currently works at the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage in Australia.

In addition to his scientific publications on the subject of environmental sciences and climate change, Hiệp’s interests also include heritage conservation and urban development.

He has since returned to Việt Nam multiple times to visit and collaborate with colleagues in research institutes and universities in Việt Nam on environmental and urban development issues.

Since the late 1990s, HCM City’s urban landscape changed rapidly due to economic reform policy.

Many old colonial buildings and architecture from the last century continue to be replaced by modern high rise commercial and residential buildings.

“One of the reasons I wrote these books about HCM City is to preserve its past collective memories,” Hiệp said.

“The various articles cover streetscapes, stories and narratives of people and societies in the past centuries, based on archival material from the National Library of France, the National Library of Việt Nam, the National Library of Singapore, private collectors and online sources”.

Author Hiệp yesterday delivered a talk with two English researchers, Tim Doling and French Daniel Caune, at Nguyễn Văn Bình book street in HCM City. — VNS