Mr. Gargan talked about his book, The River’s Tale: A Year on the Mekong, published by Alfred A. Knopf. A former war correspondent, he tells of starting at the source of the Mekong River and traveling 3,000 miles through Tibet, China, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, twenty years after the Vietnam War. He described the tension between modernity and tradition in the region. He answered questions from members of the audience.