VIETNAM The Land We Never Knew <i> photography by Geoffrey Clifford text by John Balaban (Chronicle Books: $18.95)</i>

For most Americans, Vietnam is synonymous with war and loss. People in the United States know very little about the country on which they squandered so many lives and dollars. As a helicopter pilot, Geoffrey Clifford flew combat missions during the war; returning 13 years later as a photographer provided a catharsis he shares with the reader. His handsome pictures celebrate the beauties of the land and the resilience of its people. Memories of the war still haunt Vietnam: The rusting tanks and high rate of birth deformities in the areas sprayed with Agent Orange serve as constant reminders. But the people seem to have put the war behind them as they enjoy peace and self rule for the first time in five decades. This tribute to a lovely land suggests the truth of the Vietnamese folk poem, “As long as there’s sky, rivers, and mountains/and wind and moon, here’s joy for man.”