Vietnam War Bibliography:

Writings by and about Important Communist Leaders

 
Chu Van Tan was a Nung who became a Viet Minh general, and was a member of the Communist Party Central Committee from 1945 to 1976.

Chu Van Tan, "With Uncle Ho." Vietnamese Studies no. 15 (1968), pp. 57-88.

Chu Van Tan, translated by Mai Elliott, Reminiscences on the Army for National Salvation: Memoir of General Chu Van Tan. Data Paper no. 97. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Southeast Asia Program, 1974. vi, 217 pp. This memoir (Vietnamese original published by NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan in 1971) covers the period from 1940 to 1945.

Chu Van Tan, Mot bien doi cach mang to lon o mien nui. Hanoi: Su That, 1962. 75 pp. Discusses the development of agricultural cooperatives in the highlands of North Vietnam.

Chu Van Tan, Lam tot cong tac quan su dia phuong. Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1968. 58 pp.

Chu Van Tan (and Ngoc Tu? as told to Ngoc Tu?), Ky niem cuu quoc quan: hoi ky. Hanoi: Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1977. 252 pp. The National Salvation Army, a guerrilla group in northern Bac Bo, 1941-1945; Chu Van Tan was one of its leaders.

 
"Cuu Long" (believed to have been a pseudonym of General Tran Do)

Cuu Long, Chien luoc "Viet Nam hoa" chien tranh cua My da that bai, dang that bai, nhat dinh that bai. Hanoi: Su That, 1971. 57 pp.

The Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, has placed online a few of his articles and talks, in US Government translations:

 
Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh, Selected Works. 4 vols. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1960-1962.

Ho Chi Minh, Selected Writings. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1973. 368 pp.

Ho Chi Minh, Selected Writings. Hanoi: The Gioi, 1994. The Communist Party of Vietnam has this this substantial collection of Ho's writings from 1920 to 1969, in English translation, on web sitethat no longer seems to be valid. It may be at some new location I have not found yet.

Ho Chi Minh Toan tap (Collected writings of Ho Chi Minh).  10 vols.  Hanoi: Su That, 1980-1989.

Ho Chi Minh Toan tap (Collected writings of Ho Chi Minh), 2d ed.  12 vols.  Hanoi: Chinh tri Quoc gia, 1995-1996. What looks like the full text is online at WordPress.com.

Ho Chi Minh Toan tap (Collected writings of Ho Chi Minh), 3d ed. Hanoi: Chinh tri Quoc gia, 2011(?).

"Tran Dan Tien" (a pseudonym of Ho Chi Minh), Glimpses of the Life of Ho Chi Minh, President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1958. 63 pp.

"Tran Dan Tien" (a pseudonym of Ho Chi Minh), Nhung mau chuyen ve doi hoat dong cua Ho Chu tich. Hanoi: Van Hoc, 1960. 148 pp.

Ho Chi Minh, Pham Van Dong, and Vo Nguyen Giap, Dai hoi lan thu XXI. Hanoi: Su That, 1959. 49 pp. The 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Ho Chi Minh, Prison Diary. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1962. 94 pp. Prison Diary, translated by Aileen Palmer. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1967. 102 pp. The Prison Diary of Ho Chi Minh, translated by Aileen Palmer, introduction by Harrison Salisbury. New York: Bantam Books, 1971. xxiii, 103 pp. I believe the Vietnamese original was Nhat ky trong tu.

Ho Chi Minh, Nhat ky trong tu. 2d ed. Hanoi: Pho Thong, 1971. 108 pp. Hanoi: Ngoai Van, 1985. 183 pp.

David G. Marr, ed., Reflections from Captivity. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1978. 113 pp. Translated by Christoper Jenkins, Tran Khan Tuyet, and Huynh Sanh Thong, from Phan Boi Chau, Nguc trung thu (Prison Notes), and Ho Chi Minh, Nhat ky trong tu (Prison Diary).

Ho Chi Minh, Dan toc Viet-Nam ta la mot dan toc anh hung. Hanoi: Su That, 1974. 135 pp.

Ho Chi Minh and Nguyen Van Linh, Di chuc cua chu tich Ho Chi Minh (The testament of Chairman Ho Chi Minh). Hanoi: Ban chap hanh trung uong Dang cong san Viet Nam, 1989. 59 pp. Several versions of Ho Chi Minh's testament, and a comment by Nguyen Van Linh on the way the testament had been falsified in the version published shortly after his death.

Ho Chi Minh, Con duong giai phong. Hanoi: Su That, 1990 115 pp.

Walden Bello, ed., Down With Colonialism! / Ho Chi Minh. London and New York: Verso, 2007. xliv, 226 pp. A collection of Ho's writings. The title on the cover is Walden Bello Presents Ho Chi Minh.

Bernard Fall, ed., Ho Chi Minh on Revolution: Selected Writings, 1920-66. New York: Praeger, 1967. 349 pp.

Alain Ruscio, ed., Ho Chi Minh textes 1914-1969. Paris: l'Harmattan, 2000.

Jack Woddis, ed., Ho Chi Minh: Selected Articles and Speeches, 1920-1967. London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1969. 172 pp.

Edward C. O'Dowd, "Ho Chi Minh and the origins of the Vietnamese doctrine of guerrilla tactics," Small Wars & Insurgencies 24:3 (July 2013), 561-87. Most of this (pp. 567-87) is an English translation of Ho Chi Minh's pamphlet "Cach danh du kich" (Guerrilla Tactics), first published in 1944, believed to have been written in 1941.

Pierre Brocheux, Ho Chi Minh. (Paris?): Presses de Sciences Po, 2000. 200 pp.

Pierre Brocheux, Ho Chi Minh: Du révolutionnaire à l'icône. (Paris?): Payot-Rivages, 2003. 348 pp. Translated into English by Claire Duiker as Ho Chi Minh: A Biography. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. xxi, 265 pp. [I believe the title for this was previously announced as Ho Chi Minh: From Revolutionary to Icon].

Chung Van Hoang, "'Following Uncle Ho to save the nation': Empowerment, legitimacy, and nationalistic aspirations in a Vietnamese new religious movement," Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 47:2 (June 2016), pp. 234-54.

Peter Anthony DeCaro, "Struggle for Independence: The Reconstitutive Rhetoric of Ho Chi Minh." Ph.D. dissertation, Speech Communication, Florida State University, 1998. 228 pp. DA 9827637.

Peter A. DeCaro, Rhetoric of Revolt: Ho Chi Minh's Discourse for Revolution. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2003. 140 pp.

Olga Dror, "Establishing Ho Chi Minh's Cult: Vietnamese Traditions and Their Transformation," Journal of Asian Studies, 75:2 (May 2016), pp. 433-66.

William Duiker, Ho Chi Minh.  New York: Hyperion, 2000.  xix, 695 pp.  By far the best overall biography of the man so far, but Quinn-Judge's work (see below) should also be consulted for the early years. Transcript of Duiker's extended discussion of his book on the C-SPAN show "Booknotes," November 12, 2000.

Charles Fenn, Ho Chi Minh: A Biographical Introduction. London: Studio Vista, 1973. 144 pp. Fenn was one of the OSS officers who handled U.S. liaison with Ho in 1945.

Léo Figuères (ed.?), Ho Chi Minh notre camarade. Paris: Éditions socialies, 1970. 272 pp.

Christopher E. Goscha and Benoît de Tréglodé, eds., Naissance d'un État-Parti: Le Viêt Nam depuis 1945/The Birth of a Party-State: Vietnam since 1945. Paris: les Indes Savantes, 2004. 463 pp.

Geoffrey C. Gunn, Ho Chi Minh in Hong Kong: Anti-Colonial Networks, Extradition and the Rule of Law. Cambridge University Press, 2021. Arrested in Hong Kong in 1931, Ho Chi Minh managed to avoid being extradited to Indochina, where he would very probably have been executed.

David Halberstam, Ho. New York: Random House, 1971. 118 pp.

Daniel Hémery, Ho Chi Minh, de l'Indochine au Vietnam.  Paris: Gallimard, 1990.  192 pp.

Ho Chi Minh bien nien tieu su (A chronological history of Ho Chi Minh).  10 vols.  Hanoi: Thong tin ly luan, 1992.

Ho Chi Minh: Anh hung giai phong dan toc danh nhan van hoa. Hanoi: Nha Xuat Ban Khoa Hoc Xa Hoi, 1990.

Ho Si Khue, HO Chi Minh, Ngo Dinh Diem va Mat Tran Giai Phong. Stanton, CA: Van Nghe, 1993. xiv, 441 pp.

Jiang Yongqing, Hu Zhiming zai Zhongguo (Ho Chi Minh in China). 1972. 2, 291 pp.

Evgenii Vasil'evich Kobelev, Kho Shi Min (Ho Chi Minh). Moskva: Mol. gvardiia, 1983. 349 pp.

Yevgeny Kobelev, Ho Chi Minh. Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1989. 242 pp. Translation, probably a bit abridged, of the above item. Also Hanoi: The Gioi, 1999. 301 pp.

Jean Lacouture, Ho Chi Minh. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1967. 256 pp. Life of the man who effectively founded Vietnamese Communism, by a French journalist and scholar. Translated by Peter Wiles as Ho Chi Minh: A Political Biography. New York: Random House, 1968. 313 pp.

Memories of Ho Chi Minh: Stories from His Assistants. Hanoi: The Gioi, 2004. 156 pp. Vietnamese original Chuyen ke cua nhung nguoi giup viec Bac Ho.

Reinhold Neumann-Hoditz, Portrait of Ho Chi Minh: An Illustrated Biography. New York: Herder and Herder, 1972. 187 pp. Translated by John Hargreaves, from a work published in German in 1971. Says very little about events after the 1940s.

New Ho Chi Minh Biography. Translations on North Vietnam, No. 751. JPRS 50916. Washington, D.C.: Joint Publications Research Service, 9 July 1970. 88 pp. Translation of "Chu tich Ho Chi Minh," serialized in Nhan Dan, May 17, 18, 20, and 21, 1970. The text has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in two parts: pp. 1-43 (going up to 1945), pp. 44-88 (1945 onward, and endnotes).

Nguyen Khac Huyen, Vision Accomplished? The Enigma of Ho Chi Minh. New York: Macmillan, 1971. xviii, 377 pp. pb New York: Collier, 1971. xviii, 377 pp.

Nguyen Van Khoan, Nguyen Ai Quoc voi cong tac giao thong lien lac truyen ba chu nghia Mac-Lenin vao Viet Nam. Hanoi: NXB Cong An Nhan Dan, 2005. 255 pp.

Pasquel Rageau, Christiane, Ho Chi Minh. Paris: Éditions universitaires, 1970. 191 pp.

Sophie Quinn-Judge, Ho Chi Minh: The Missing Years, 1919-1941. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. xii, 356 pp.

Jean Renaud and Ong-Chúa, Ho-Chi-Minh, Abd-El-Krim et cie. Paris: G. Boussac, 1949. 270 pp.

Jean Sainteny, Ho Chi Minh and His Vietnam: A Personal Memoir. Chicago: Cowel, 1972. xii, 193 pp. Translated by Herma Briffault from Face à Ho Chi Minh. Paris: Seghers, 1970. 210 pp.

Thai Quang Trung, Collective Leadership and Factionalism: An Essay on Ho Chi Minh's Legacy. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1985. viii, 136 pp.

Thu Trang Gaspard, Ho Chi Minh à Paris: 1917-1923. Preface by Philippe Devillers. Paris: l'Harmattan, 1992. 271 pp.

Ton That Thien, Ho Chi Minh and the Comintern: Was Ho Chi Minh a Nationalist? Singapore: Information and Resource Center, 1990. 59 pp.

Vien Quan He Quoc Te Bo Ngoai Giao, Chu tich Ho Chi Minh voi cong tac ngoai giao (Ho Chi Minh and Foreign Relations). Hanoi: Su That, 1990.

William Warbey, Ho Chi Minh and the Struggle for an Independent Vietnam. London: Merlin Press, 1972. ix, 274 pp.

 
Hoang Van Hoan

Hoang Van Hoan, A Drop in the Ocean: Hoang Van Hoan's Revolutionary Reminiscences. Beijing: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1988. Memoir by a senior Vietnamese leader who defected to China in 1979.

 
Hoang Van Thai

Hoang Van Thai, Some Aspects of Guerilla Warfare in Vietnam. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1965. 39 pp.

Hoang Van Thai, Cuoc tien cong chien luoc Dong Xuan, 1954-1954. Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1984. 152 pp.

Hoang Van Thai, Nhung nam thang quyet dinh.  Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1985. 330 pp.

Hoang Van Thai, The Decisive Years: Memoirs of Vietnamese Senior General Hoang Van Thai. JPRS-SEA-87-084. Springfield, VA: NTIS, 1987. (Translated from General Thai's memoirs as serialized in the Ho Chi Minh City newspaper Saigon Giai Phong, March 13 to May 14, 1986, not necessarily identical to the version published as a book the previous year.) Deals mainly with the period 1972 to 1975. The text has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in four parts: front matter and pp. 1-47, pp. 48-97, pp. 98-147, and pp. 148-156.

Hoang Van Thai, How South Vietnam was Liberated: Memoirs. Hanoi: The Gioi, 1992. 251 pp. 4th ed. Hanoi: The Gioi, 2008. v, 249 pp. Probably just a different English translation of the above item.

Hoang Van Thai, Dien Bien Phu, chien dich lich su: hoi uc. Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1994. 185 pp.

Dai Tuong Hoang Van Thai.  Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1999.  456 pp.

The Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, has placed online a few of his articles and talks, in US Government translations:

 
Huynh Tan Phat (General Secretary of the NLF 1964-66; President of the PRG 1969-76; later one of the deputy premiers of the SRV)

Lam Dep cuoc doi: Huynh Tan Phat, con nguoi va su nghiep. 2d ed. Hanoi: NXB Chinh Tri Quoc Gia, 1995. 472 pp.

Huynh Tan Phat, cuoc doi va su nghiep. Hanoi: NXB Chinh Tri Quoc Gia, 2003. 656 pp. Probably a further revised version of the previous item.

 
Le Duan

Le Duan, Cach mang xa hoi chu nghia o Viet Nam: tac pham chon loc. 4 vols. Hanoi: Su That, 1976, 1976, 1980, 1984. Vol. 4, containing writings from 1978 to 1983, had 654 pp.

Le Duan, Chu nghia yeu nuoc va chu nghia quoc te vo san (Patriotism and proletatian internationalism). Hanoi: Su That, 1979. 118 pp.

Le Duan, Mot vai van de trong nhiem vu quoc te cua Dang ta. Hanoi: Su That, 1964. 55 pp.

Le Duan, Nhung nhiem vu lich su cua phong trao cong san quoc te. Hanoi: Su That, 1958. 58 pp.

Le Duan, On the Socialist Revolution in Vietnam. 3 vols. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1965, 1965, 1967. 110, 212, 214 pp.

Le Duan, Selected Writings. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1977. 540 pp. Portions of this have been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University. "Hold High the Revolutionary Banner of Creative Marxism, Take Our Revolutionary Cause to Complete Victory!" March 13, 1963. pp. 57-104.   "The Vietnamese Revolution: Fundamental Problems, Essential Tasks," written in 1970: front matter and pp. 163-211,   pp. 212-261,   pp. 262-311,   pp. 312-329.

Le Duan, Some Questions Concerning the International Tasks of Our Party. Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1964. 56 pp. This is a speech Le Duan gave at the Ninth Plenum, in December 1963, at which the Lao Dong Party Central Committee decided on a significant escalation of the war in South Vietnam. The text has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in two parts: front matter and pp. 1-28,   pp. 29-56. See also a U.S. government translation of the same speech. See also the original Vietnamese-language text: Le Duan, Mot vai van de trong nhiem vu quoc te cua dang ta. n.p.: Nha Xuat Ban Co Do, 1964. 50 pp.

Le Duan, Tho vao Nam (Letters to the South). Hanoi: Su That, 1985. 422 pp. This collection of directives to senior Communist personnel in South Vietnam is an extremely important source for DRV policy during the war. There is an English translation: Letters to the South. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1986. 263 pp. Judging from the page count, this may be abridged.

Le Duan, Tiep tuc nghien cuu xay dung ly luan quan su Viet Nam [Continue to study and build Vietnamese military thought]. Hanoi: Su that, 1979. 18 pp.

The Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, has placed online a few of his articles and talks, in US Government translations:

Huang Wenhuan, Yue Zhong you hao yu Li Sun di bei pan. Beijing : Ren min chu ban she: Xin hua shu dian fa xing, 1982. 76 pp.

Le Duan tieu su. Hanoi: NXB Ching tri quoc gia, 2007. 550 pp.

Le Duan va cach mang Viet Nam. Hanoi: NXB Ching tri quoc gia, 1997. 308 pp.

Nguyen Khoa Diem et al., Le Duan: mot nha lanh dao loi lac, mot tu duy sang tao lon cua cach mang Viet Nam: hoi ky. Hanoi: NXB Ching tri quoc gia, 2002. 1068 pp.

Zachary Shore, A Sense of the Enemy: The High Stakes History of Reading Your Rival's Mind. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. 272 pp. Two chapters (pp. 107-146) deal with Le Duan's role in the Vietnam War. Shore argues that Le Duan had a good understanding of the Americans, a "strategic empathy for America."

Tran Nham, Le Duan, Truong Chinh, hai nha ly luan xuat sac cua cach mang Viet Nam. Hanoi: NXB Ching tri quoc gia, 2002. 335 pp.

 
Le Duc Tho

Le Duc Tho, Quan triet va day manh hon nua viec chap hanh doing loi phuong cham xay dung Dang. Hanoi: Su that, 1963. 72 pp.

An extended U.S. government analysis of a major article by Le Duc Tho, published in Hoc Tap and elsewhere in February 1966, is available (but not accompanied by the actual text of Tho's article) in Radio Propaganda Report: North Vietnamese Party Problems and Differences, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Research Series, RS.81, 9 March 1966.

Le Duc Tho, Mot so van de ve tong ket chien tranh va bien soan lich su quan su. Hanoi: Su That, 1989.

Nho anh Le Duc Tho. Hanoi: NXB chinh tri quoc git, 2006. 779 pp. I believe this is a collection of biographical sketches of Le Duc Tho.

 
Le Quang Dao. (Lieutenant general, deputy chief of the General Political Department of the PAVN; see biographical sketch.)

Vu Mau et. al., eds., Le Quang Dao, 1921-1999. Hanoi: Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 2000. 617 pp. General Le Quang Dao served in the Red River Delta for considerable parts of the First Indochina War, and was involved with the PAVN forces in Quang Tri, and nearby areas of Laos and North Vietnam, from 1968 to 1972. I haven't seen this book, so I don't know whether it is things he wrote, or things others wrote about him after his death, or what.

 
Nguyen Binh

Christopher E. Goscha, "A 'Popular' Side of the Vietnamese Army; General Nguyen Binh and the Early War in the South (1910-1951)," in Christopher E. Goscha and Benoît de Tréglodé, eds., Naissance d'un État-Parti: Le Viêt Nam depuis 1945/The Birth of a Party-State: Vietnam since 1945 (Paris: les Indes Savantes, 2004), pp. 325-353.

Nguyen Hung, Nguyen Binh, huyen thoai va su that. Hanoi: Van hoc, 1995. 494 pp.

 
Nguyen Chi Thanh, a.k.a. Truong Son, a very important PAVN general, became a member of the Politburo in 1950 or 1951, and commanded COSVN from 1964 until his death in 1967.

The Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, has placed online a number of his articles and talks, in US Government translations:

Nguyen Chi Thanh, "Qui vaincra au Sud-Vietnam," Études Vietnamiennes no. 1 (1964), pp. 13-22. Originally published in Hoc Tap, July 1963.

Truong Son, A Bitter Dry Season for the Americans. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1966. 62 pp. The text (possibly incomplete--there appears to be some front matter missing) has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University.

Truong Son, The Winter 1966-Spring 1967 victory and five lessons concerning the conduct of military strategy (title on title page) or Five Lessons of a Great Victory (Winter 1966 - Spring 1967) (title on cover). Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1967. 72 pp. The text of this pamphlet and also a substantially different version of the same essay published as "Our winter 1966 - spring 1967 victory and the lessons drawn from it," pp. 7-61 of Vietnamese Studies, no. 20 have been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University. Neither of these two version released in English by Hanoi appears quite to match the versions released in Vietnamese (see above for U.S. government translations of those).

Nguyen Chi Thanh, Dang ta lanh dao tai tinh chien tranh nhan dan va xay dung luc luong vu trang nhan dan (Our party cleverly leads people's war and builds the people's armed forces). Hanoi: Su That, 1970. 404 pp.

Nguyen Chi Thanh, Luon luon giu vung va tang cuong su lanh dao cua Dang doi voi luc luong vu trang nhan dan. Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1970. 313 pp.

Nguyen Chi Thanh, Ve xan xuat nong nghiep va hop tac hoa nong nghiep. Hanoi: Su That, 1969. 366 pp.

Nguyen Chi Thanh et. al., Dai Tuong Nguyen Chi Thanh.  Hue: Nha Xuat Ban Thuan Hoa, 1997.  392 pp.  Most of the volume is articles by General Thanh.

Dai Tuong Nguyen Chi Thanh voi cuoc khang chien chong My, cuu nuoc.  Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 2004. 618 pp. A collection of General Thanh's writings. Despite the title, a significant part of the volume (pp. 345-416) deals with policies toward agriculture and the peasants.

Dai tuong Nguyen Chi Thanh, nha lanh dao loi lac, mot danh tuong thoi dai Ho ChiMinh: hoi ky. Hanoi: NXB Chinh Tri Quoc Gia, 2007. 631 pp.

 
Nguyen Duy Trinh

Nguyen Duy Trinh et al., Nhung ngay thang tam. Hanoi: Van Hoc, 1961. 288 pp. The August Revolution of 1945.

Nguyen Duy Trinh et al., In the Enemy's Net, Memoirs from the Revolution. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1962. 153 pp.

Nguyen Duy Trinh and Pham Van Dong, The Problems Facing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1961: Economy, Culture, National Reunification, Foreign Relations. Hanoi: Foreign Relations Publishing House, [1967?]. 59 pp.

Nguyen Duy Trinh, The di len cua ta tren mat tran ngoai giao: bao cao truoc ky hop thu hai Quoc hoi khoa IV. Hanoi: Su That, 1972. 84 pp.

Nguyen Duy Trinh, Mien Bac xa hoi chu nghia trong qua trinh thuc hien hai nhiem vu chien luoc. Hanoi: Su That, 1976. 118 pp.

Nguyen Duy Trinh, Mat tran ngoai giao thoi ky chong My cuu nuoc, 1965-1975. Hanoi: su That, 1979. 318 pp.

 
Nguyen Huu Tho

Nguyen Huu Chau, Luat so Nguyen Huu Tho: hanh trinh yeu nuoc (Lawyer Ngueyn Huu Tho: A Patriotic Journey). T.P. Ho Chi Minh: NXB Tre, 2012. 331 pp.

Nguyen Huu Tho, Gan bo voi dan toc, voi nhan dan, voi cach mang. Hanoi: NXB Chinh tri quoc gia, 1996. 438 pp.

Luat su Nguyen Huu Tho, ca nuoc ton vinh anh: truyen va ky. Hanoi: Van hoc, 1995. 441 pp.

Tran Bac Dang, ed., Luat su Nguyen Huu Tho: nguoi con tan trung voi nuoc tan hieu voi dan. Hanoi: NXB Chinh Tri Quoc Gia, 1998. 511 pp.

 
Nguyen Thi Binh

Nguyen Thi Binh, et al., Mat tran dan toc giai phong Chinh phu Cach mang lam thoi tai Hoi nghi Paris ve Viet Nam: hoi uc. Hanoi: Chinh Tri Quoc Gia, 2001. 688 pp.

Nguyen Thi Binh, Gia dinh, ban be va dat nuoc: hoi ky. Hanoi: NXB Tri thuc, 2012. 413 pp.

Nguyen Thi Binh, Family, Friends, and Country. Hanoi, 2013. Translation, by Lady Borton, of the preceding item.

 
Nguyen Thi Dinh

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dinh, No Other Road to Take, trans. by Mai V. Elliott. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Southeast Asia Program, 1976. viii, 77 pp. Memoir of the Communist movement up to the end of 1960, especially in Ben Tre (in the Mekong Delta), by a woman who joined the movement in the 1930's. Vietnamese original Khong con duong nao khac: hoi ky. Hanoi: Phu nu, 1968. 104 pp.

 
Pham Hung: Head of COSVN 1967-75; became prime Minister of the SRV in 1987

Pham Hung tieu su. Hanoi: NXB Chinh tri quoc gia, 2007. 420 pp.

Tran Thanh Phuong, ed., Mot nguoi cong thoi voi Ly Tu Trong. Hanoi: Cuu Long, 1989. 159 pp.

 
Pham Van Dong: Prime Minister of the DRV (1955-76) and of the SRV (1976-87)

Pham Van Dong, American Imperialism's Intervention in Vietnam. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1955. 35 pp.

Pham Van Dong, Vietnam Fatherland Front and the Struggle for National Unity. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1956. 61 pp.

Ho Chi Minh, Pham Van Dong, and Vo Nguyen Giap, Dai hoi lan thu XXI. Hanoi: Su That, 1959. 49 pp. The 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Pham Van Dong, President Ho Chi Minh: Political Biography. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1960. 121 pp.

Nguyen Duy Trinh and Pham Van Dong, The Problems Facing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1961: Economy, Culture, National Reunification, Foreign Relations. Hanoi: Foreign Relations Publishing House, [1967?]. 59 pp.

Pham Van Dong, "Le Vietnam 10 ans apres Geneve," Études Vietnamiennes no. 1 (1964), pp. 42-64.

Pham Van Dong, Selected Writings. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1977. 410 pp. Materials written between 1954 and 1975.

Pham Van Dong et al., Vi sao My that bai trong cuoc chien tranh xam luoc Viet Nam. Hanoi: Su That, 1986. 76 pp.

Pham Van Dong va ngoai giao Viet Nam [Pham Van Dong and Vietnam's foreign relations]. Hanoi: NXB Chinh tri quoc gia, 2006. 766 pp.

 
Song Hao (head of the PAVN's General Political Directorate; original name Nguyen Van Khuong)

Song Hao, Duoi ngon co vinh quang cua Dang: hoi ky. Hanoi: Quan doi nhan dan, 1965. 191 pp. I believe this is primarily about the First Indochina War.

Song Hao, Ky luat cua Quan doi nhan dan ta. Hanoi: Quan doi nhan dan, 1974. 132 pp.

Song Hao, Phat huy ban chat va truyen thong cach mang cua Quan doi nhan dan Viet-nam. Hanoi: Su That, 1975. 47 pp.

Song Hao, Ve nhiem vu cong tac chinh tri trong quan doi nhan dan. Hanoi: Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1975. 808 pp.

Thuong tuong Song Hao: hoi ky va tac pham. Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 2005. 587 pp.

The Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, has placed online a biographical sketch of Song Hao and also a number of his articles and talks, in US Government translations:

 
Tran Do. Cuu Long (see above) is said to have been a pseudonym for Tran Do.

Ken Maclean, "A 'Biography Not' of General Tran Do: His Dissident Writings, Elite Politics, and Death in Retrospect," Journal of Vietnamese Studies, 8:1 (Winter 2013), pp. 34-79. The text is on JSTOR.

 
Tran Quoc Hoan, original name Nguyen Trong Canh, was Minister of Public Security throughout the war.

Bui Anh Tuan, ed., Dong chi Tran Quoc Hoan voi Cong an Nhan dan Viet Nam (Comrade Tran Quoc Hoan and Vietnam's People's Public Security). Hanoi: NXB Cong An, 2004.

Nguyen Thanh, Luu Vinh, and Tran Cao Kieu, eds., Nhung ky niem sau sac ve Bo truong Tran Quoc hoan (Profound memories of Minister Tran Quoc Hoan). Hanoi: NXB Cong An, 2004.

Trinh Thuc Huynh, ed., Dong chi Tran Quoc Hoan: Chien si cach mang trung kien cu Dang, nha lanh dao xuat sac cua Cong An Viet Nam. Hanoi: NXB Ching tri quoc gia, 2006.

Tran Quoc Hoan, Mot so van de ve dau tranh chong phan cach mang. Hanoi: Vien Nghien Cuu Khoa Hoc Cong An, 1975.

Tran Quoc Hoan, Mot so van de xay dung luc luong Cong An Nhan Dan. Hanoi: Cong An Nhan Dan, 2004.

 
Tran Van Tra

Tran Van Tra, Nhung chang duong lich su cu B2 thanh dong, 5 vols. projected.

Tran Van Tra, Can nhan ve xuan Mau Than, 1968. TP Ho Chi Minh: Nha Xuat Ban Tre, 1998. 228 pp.

Tran Van Tra, Goi nguoi dang song (To the living). TP Ho Chi Minh: Tre, 1996.

Tran Van Tra, "Tet: The 1968 General Offensive and General Uprising," in Jayne S. Werner and Luu Doanh Huynh, eds., The Vietnam War: Vietnamese and American Perspectives (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1993), pp. 37-65. Originally published in Vietamese as two articles, "Tet Mau Than, chien cong hien hach [Tet, the Year of the Monkey, a glorious feat of arms]," and "Thang loi va suy nghi ve thang loi [Victory and reflections on victory]," Tap chi lich su quan su [Journal of military history], February 1998, pp. 8-23, and April 1998, pp. 36-45.

 
Truong Chinh, a.k.a. Dang Xuan Khu

Truong Chinh (Dang Xuan Khu), Ba giai-doan truong-ky khang-chien. Saigon: Ty Thong-tin Saigon-Cholon, 1949. 33 pp. In Phan Thien Chau, ed., Communist Vietnamese Publications: Selected from the Vietnamese Collection of the Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Orientalia Division, 1971), reel 1, item 30.

Truong Chinh, Ban ve cach mang Viet-Nam: Bao cao doc tai Dai hoi dai bieu toan quoc, thang 2 nam 1951. In Phan Thien Chau, ed., Communist Vietnamese Publications: Selected from the Vietnamese Collection of the Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Orientalia Division, 1971), reel 2, item 59.

Truong Chinh, The August Revolution. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1958. 76 pp. The story of the Viet Minh siezure of power in 1945. Truong Chinh published the Vietnamese original of this work in Su That in 1946. He was General Secretary of the Indochinese Communist Party at that time. By the time the English translation was published in Hanoi, Truong Chinh had been demoted as punishment for his errors in the Land Reform campaign of 1953-1956. The text has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in two parts: pp. 1-40 and pp. 41-76.

Truong Chinh, The Resistance Will Win. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1960. 137 pp. Originally written in 1947.

Truong Chinh, Primer for Revolt. New York: Praeger, 1963. An American reprint combining The August Revolution and The Resistance Will Win. The full text is available online to paid subscribers of Questia.

Dang Xuan khu (Truong Chinh), Tien len duoi la co cua Dang! (Advance under the Banner of the Party!). Hanoi: Su That, 1961. 89 pp. In Phan Thien Chau, ed., Communist Vietnamese Publications: Selected from the Vietnamese Collection of the Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Orientalia Division, 1971), reel 2, item 74.

Truong Chinh, For the Centenary of Lenin's Birth. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1971. 45 pp. The text has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University, in three parts: pp. 1-16, pp. 17-30, and pp. 31-45.

Truong Chinh, Selected Writings. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1977. 818 pp. There are no short items in this collection, just eight long ones, from "The August Revolution" (1946) and "The Resistance Will Win" (1947) to "Political Report at the Political Consultative Conference on National Reunification" (November 1975). Part of this, at least, has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University: "Implementing the Land Reform" (November 1953), pp. 465-510 and pp. 511-555. "Forward Along the Path Charted by Karl Marx (1968), pp. 557-605, pp. 606-655, pp. 656-673.

Truong Chinh and Vo Nguyen Giap, Van de dan cay. Hanoi: Su That, 1959. 131 pp. Originally published in Hanoi in 1937 and 1938, with the authors using the pseudonyms Qua Ninh and Van Dinh.

Truong Chinh and Vo Nguyen Giap, The Peasant Question, 1937-1938. Translated and introduced by Christine Pelzer White. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Southeast Asia Program, 1974. xii, 112 pp. Translation of the above item.

Dong chi Truong Chinh. Hanoi: NXB Thong tan xa, 2007. 201 pp.

Dong chi Truong Chinh voi que huong Nam Dinh. Hanoi: NXB Chinh tri quoc gia, 2007. 439 pp.

Duc Vuong and Nguyen Van Khoan (eds.?), Truong-Chinh, nguoi con cua que huong. Hanoi: Su that, 1991. 115 pp.

Duc Vuong, Nguyen Van Khoan, and Doan Quang Hoa, eds., Truong-Chinh, nguoi con cua que huong. Hanoi: Chinh tri quoc gia, 1993. 127 pp.

Hoang Tung and Duc Vuong (eds.?), Dong chi Truong-Chinh. 2 vols. Hanoi: Su that, 1990-91.

Hoi ky ve dong chi Truong Chinh. Hanoi: NXB Chinh tri quoc gia, 1997. 122 pp.

Pham Hong Chuong et al., eds., Truong-Chinh tieu su. Hanoi: NXB Chinh tri quoc gia, 2007. 706 pp.

Tran Nham, Le Duan, Truong Chinh, hai nha ly luan xuat sac cua cach mang Viet Nam. Hanoi: NXB Ching tri quoc gia, 2002. 335 pp.

Vien nghien cuu Ho Chi Minh va cac lanh tu cua Dang, Truong-Chinh ca cach mang Viet Nam. Hanoi: Chinh tri quoc gia, 1997. 306 pp.

 
Van Tien Dung

Van Tien Dung, South Vietnam: U.S. Defeat Inevitable. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1967. 47 pp.

Van Tien Dung, "People's War against Air War of Destruction," pp. 63-86 of Vietnamese Studies, no. 20, online in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project at Texas Tech University.

Van Tien Dung et. al., Chien tranh nhan dan danh thang chien tranh pha hoai cua de quoc My. Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1968. 194 pp.

Van Tien Dung, May van de nghe thuat quan su Viet-Nam. Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1968. 322 pp. All or most of this material appears to have been written in 1966 and 1967. 2d. ed. Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1974. 401 pp.

Van Tien Dung, Dai thang mua xuan (Our great spring victory). 2d ed.: Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1977. 322 pp. 3d ed. (revised and enlarged): Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1995. 336 pp.

Van Tien Dung, Our Great Spring Victory. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1977. x, 275 pp. The final Communist victory of 1975, as told by the general who commanded the PAVN forces in that campaign. A U.S. government translation of roughly the first half of this work, taken from its 1976 publication in the Hanoi newspaper Nhan Dan, has been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project at Texas Tech University, in two parts: first part and second part.

Van Tien Dung, Chien tranh nhan dan, quoc phong toan dan [vol. 1?]. Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1978.

Van Tien Dung, Buoc ngoat lon cua cuoc khang chien chong My.  Hanoi: Su That, 1989. 255 pp.

Van Tien Dung, Cuoc khang chien chong My: toan thang.  Hanoi: Su That, 1991.

Van Tien Dung, Di theo con duong cua Bac: hoi ky. Hanoi: Chinh Tri Quoc Gia, 1993. 203 pp.

Van Tien Dung, Di theo con duong cua Bac: hoi uc. Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 2004. 394 pp.

Van Tien Dung, Ve cuoc khang chien chong My, cuu nuoc. Hanoi: Chinh Tri Quoc Gia, 1996. 537 pp. 2d ed.: Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 2005. 615 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap and Van Tien Dung, How We Won the War. Philadelphia: Recon Publications, 1976. 63 pp. (See comments below, under Vo Nguyen Giap).

 
Vo Nguyen Giap

Truong Chinh and Vo Nguyen Giap, Van de dan cay. Hanoi: Su That, 1959. 131 pp. Originally published in Hanoi in 1937 and 1938, with the authors using the pseudonyms Qua Ninh and Van Dinh.

Truong Chinh and Vo Nguyen Giap, The Peasant Question, 1937-1938. Translated and introduced by Christine Pelzer White. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Southeast Asia Program, 1974. xii, 112 pp. Translation of the above item.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Nhiem vu quan su truoc mat chuyen sang tong phan cong. Ha-dong: Uy ban Khang Chien hanh chinh, 1950. 58 pp. In Phan Thien Chau, ed., Communist Vietnamese Publications: Selected from the Vietnamese Collection of the Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Orientalia Division, 1971), reel 1, item 40.

Vo Nguyen Giap, American Imperialism's Intervention in Vietnam. Hanoi: Foreign Language Publishing House, 1955. 35 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, On the Implementation of the Geneva Agreements: Excerpts from a Report in the Fourth Session of the National Assembly, March 1955. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1955. 51 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Nhung kinh nghiem lon cua Dang ta ve lanh dao dau tranh vu trang va xay dung luc luong vu trang cach mang. Hanoi: Su That, 1961. 83 pp. In Phan Thien Chau, ed., Communist Vietnamese Publications: Selected from the Vietnamese Collection of the Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Orientalia Division, 1971), reel 2, item 80.

Vo Nguyen Giap, People's War, People's Army. New York: Praeger, 1962. xl, 217 pp. Basic work by the man who beat the French. The full text is available online to paid subscribers of Questia.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Cuoc chien tranh giai phong cua nhan dan mien Nam chong de quoc My va tay sai nhat dinh thang loi. Hanoi: Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1964. 67 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Dien Bien Phu. Revised and enlarged edition. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1964. 254 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, "The Political and Military Line of Our Party." Vietnamese Studies no. 7 (1965), pp. 123-152. Originally published in Nhan Dan, December 22, 1964. Emphasized the importance of "revolutionary violence"; Giap may have been trying to defend himself against suspicions of revisionism. Also emphasized the problems that Vietnam had faced, as "a small nation struggling against a much stronger enemy."

Vo Nguyen Giap, "The Liberation War in South Vietnam: Its Essential Characteristics." Vietnamese Studies no. 8 (1966), pp. 5-36.

Vo Nguyen Giap, The South Vietnam People Will Win. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1965. 127 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Once Again We Will Win. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1966. 48 pp. Translation of an article published in Hoc Tap January 1966. A somewhat abridged version of this article, titled "Let the Entire People Resolutely and Unanimously Step Up Their Great Patriotic War to Defeat the U.S. Aggressors," was broadcast in English by Radio Hanoi, 31 January 1966. The text, published as a special supplement to the U.S. Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report: Far East, 1 February 1966, has been placed online in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University. 14 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, "The Strategic Role of the Self-Defense Militia in the Great Anti-U.S. National Salvation Struggle of Our People." Text of a talk by General Vo Nguyen Giap at a January 1967 conference. The text, published as a special supplement to the U.S. Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report: Asia & Pacific, 14 April 1967, has been placed online in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University. 30 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, "The Big Victory; The Great Task." Nhan Dan and Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 14-16 September 1967, broadcast on Radio Hanoi, 17-20 September 1967. An English translation published as a special supplement to the U.S. Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report: Asia & Pacific, 16 October 1967, has been placed online in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project at Texas Tech University: pp. 1-47, pp. 48-54.

Vo Nguyen Giap, "Big Victory, Great Task"; North Viet-Nam's Minister of Defense Assesses the Course of the War. New York: Praeger, 1968. xix, 120 pp. Introduction by David Schoenbrun.

Vo Nguyen Giap, interview with Oriana Fallaci, February 1969, in Oriana Fallaci, Interview with History (New York: Liveright, 1976), pp. 74-87. Ms. Fallaci also published in the Washington Post, April 6, 1969, pp. B1, B4, a detailed account of the interview, and a discussion (with phrases like "official mutilation of the truth") on the difference between what General Giap said to her in the interview, and what was in the official text of it that she was given afterward.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Dien Bien Phu. 4th ed.: Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1969. 165 pp.

Russell Stetler, ed., The Military Art of People's War: Selected Writings of Vo Nguyen Giap. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1970. 332 pp. pb New York: Monthly Review Press, 1971. 332 pp. Contains material from various of the books listed above. For example, pp. 79-160 are made up of material from the volume People's War, People's Army, somewhat re-edited. But also there are some items that cannot so easily be found elsewhere. See for example Giap's interview with Madeleine Riffaud, May 1968, on pp. 319-327 (originally published in French in l'Humanité, June 4, 1968), in which Giap gave an exaggerated acount of the accomplishments of the Tet Offensive.

Vo Nguyen Giap, National Liberation War in Vietnam. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1971. 142 pp.

Vietnam Documents and Research Notes. Saigon: U.S. Mission in Vietnam. This series was made up mainly of major Communist documents, some openly published in Hanoi and others captured by US forces, translated into English. The texts of some items in this series have been placed on-line in the Virtual Vietnam Archive of the Vietnam Project, at Texas Tech University. Those that translate Giap's works include:

Vo Nguyen Giap, Vi tri chien luoc cua chien tranh nhan dan o dia phuong va cua cac luc luong vu trang dia phuong. Hanoi: Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1972. 49 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, People's War Against U.S. Aeronaval War. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1975. 223 pp. Speeches given at conferences in 1969 and 1970.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Dan quan tu ve, mot luc luong chien luoc. Hanoi: Su That, 1974. 261 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, To Arm the Revolutionary Masses, To Build the People's Army. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1975. 233 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Nhung nam thang khong the nao quen (Unforgettable months and years). Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1974. 440 pp. The revolution of 1945-1946.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Unforgettable Days. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1975. 430 pp. Translation of the above item.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Unforgettable Months and Years. Ithaca, New York: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 1975. viii, 103 pp. Translated and with introduction by Mai Van Elliott.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Tu nhan dan ma ra: hoi ky. Hanoi: Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1975. 230 pp. A memoir of Giap's early life.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Dien Bien Phu. 2d ed.: Hanoi: Su That, 1976. 80 pp. 5th ed.: Hanoi: The Gioi, 1994. 166 pp. 7th ed. Hanoi: The Gioi, 2004. viii, 261 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap and Van Tien Dung, How We Won the War. Philadelphia: Recon Publications, 1976. 63 pp.
        This book has been the subject of several unfounded rumors on the Internet. The first one began in the late 1990s. Supposedly, General Giap had written in How We Won the War that in the aftermath of the Tet Offensive of 1968, the Communist leaders in Vietnam had been ready to abandon the war, but that a broadcast by Walter Cronkite, declaring the Tet Offensive a Communist victory, persuaded them to change their minds and fight on. This rumor was entirely false. Giap had not mentioned Cronkite, and had not said the Communists had ever considered giving up on the war. See below for further comments on this issue.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Selected Writings. Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1977. 514 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Pac Bo, nguon suoi. Hanoi: Van Hoa Dan Toc, 1990. 113 pp.

Stanley Karnow, "Giap Remembers," New York Times Magazine, June 24, 1990, pp. 22-23, 36, 39, 57-60. There is an unfounded rumor on the Internet claiming that in this interview, Giap said that the Viet Cong ceased to be a fighting force after the Tet Offensive of 1968. Giap did not say that in this interview and has not said it elsewhere.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Dien Bien Phu: The Most Difficult Decision and Other Writings. Hanoi: The Gioi, 1992. 75 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Dien Bien Phu. Hanoi: Chinh Tri Quoc Gia, 1994. 362 pp. Revised edition: Hanoi: Chinh Tri Quoc Gia, 1998. 370 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Chien dau trong vong vay (Fighting in a situation of encirclement). Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1995. 436 pp. Covers the period from 1946 to 1950. Translated as Fighting Under Siege: Reminiscences. Hanoi: The Gioi, 2004. 314 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Duong toi Dien Bien Phu (The road to Dien Bien Phu). Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 1999. 427 pp. Covers the period from late 1950 to late 1953.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Dien Bien Phu, diem hen lich su. Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 2000. 476 pp. Second edition, revised: Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 2001. 452 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, with Huu Mai, Dien Bien Phu: Rendezvous with History: A Memoir. Hanoi: The Gioi, 2004. 479 pp. An annotated translation by Lady Borton of the preceding item.

Vo Nguyen Giap, with Huu Mai, Mémoires, 1946-1954, 3 vols. Paris: Anako, 2003-2004. Vol. I, La résistance encerclée, 314 pp., covers the period up to the summer of 1950. Vol. II, Le chemin menant à Diên Biên Phu, 304 pp., covers late 1950 to late 1953. Vol. III, Diên Biên Phu, Le rendez-vous de l'histoire, 346 pp., covers the end of the First Indochina War. (These are French translations of the three volumes represented by the four entries immediately above.)

Cecil B. Currey, "Senior General Vo Nguyen Giap Remembers" Journal of Third World Studies, Fall 2003. Covers the early part of General Giap's career.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Tong hanh dinh trong mua xuan toan thang: Hoi uc. Hanoi: NXB Chinh Tri Quoc Gia, 2000. 374 pp. Edited by Pham Chi Nhan. The story of the last years of the war, from late 1972 onward.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Dien Bien Phu: Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap's most difficult decision in his life as commander: selected writings. Hanoi: The Gioi, 2004. 142 pp.

Vo Nguyen Giap, The General Headquarters in the Spring of Brilliant Victory: Memoirs. Hanoi: The Gioi, 2002. 350 pp. Hanoi: The Gioi, 2011. 275 pp. An English translation of the preceeding item. The story of the last years of the war, from late 1972 onward.

Vo Nguyen Giap, Tong tap [Collected Writings].

Dai Tuong Vo Nguyen Giap voi cuoc hhang chien chong My, cuu nuoc.  Hanoi: NXB Quan Doi Nhan Dan, 2005. 1002 pp. In this huge volume, pp. 15-782 are a collection of Giap's writings and speeches, dating between 1964 and 1972. pp. 783-1002 are the 2004 version of Tong hanh dinh trong mua xuan toan thang, Giap's memoir of the period 1972-1975.

Alain Ruscio, ed., Vo Nguyen Giap: Une vie: Propos recueillis par Alain Ruscio, Hanoi, 1979-2008. Paris: les Indes Savantes, 2010. 121 pp. An oral history—questions asked by Ruscio, and responses by General Giap.
 

John Colvin, Giap: Volcano under Snow. New York: Soho, 1996. xii, 336 pp. The few pages at which I have glanced were not very accurate. The strangest errors I have noticed are on p. 272. Here Colvin states that the Republican Party's caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives voted, on January 4, 1973, to cut off funds for U.S. combat operations in Indochina. He also appears to say that the final version of the Paris Peace Agreement signed January 27, 1973, formally recognized the Saigon government as the legal government of South Vietnam, and authorized "unrestricted US military support for the ARVN."

Cecil B. Currey, Victory at Any Cost: The Genius of Viet Nam's Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap. Washington: Brassey's, 1997. xxii, 401 pp. The two sections at which I have looked are the one on the land reform of the 1950s, which was dreadfully inaccurate (note the spurious quotations from Giap on p. 222--Giap did not actually say that in the land reform Communist leaders allowed "too many deviations and executed too many honest people"--see below for further comments), and the one on the Tet Offensive of 1968, which was also seriously inaccurate, exaggerating Communist losses in the offensive.

Dac Trung, Tu mot cuoc doi suy ngam ve dao lam nguoi. Hanoi: NXB Ha Noi, 2019

General Hoang Cu, General Giap: His Youth. Youth Publishing House, 2008. 154 pp. Covers the years up to about 1937.

Peter MacDonald, Giap: The Victor in Vietnam. New York: Norton, 1993. 368 pp. The brief glance I have taken at this suggests it is not reliable.

Robert O'Neill, General Giap: Politician and Strategist. New York: Praeger, 1969. xi, 219 pp.

Tran Trong Trung, Tong tu lenh Vo Nguyen Giap [Supreme Commander Vo Nguyen Giap]. Hanoi: NXB Chinh Tri Quoc Gia, 2006. 910 pp.

Tran Trong Trung, Tong tu lenh Vo Nguyen Giap: trong nhung nam de quoc My leo thang chien thanh, 1965-1969. Hanoi: Chinh tri quoc gia, 2015. 495 pp.

James A. Warren, Giap: The General Who Defeated America in Vietnam. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. xxi, 234 pp.

 

Statements Falsely Attributed to Vo Nguyen Giap: Many authors have attributed to Vo Nguyen Giap statements that he never actually made. He has been more often misrepresented than any other Vietnamese leader. The major examples that I have seen are:

____________________

1 Hoang Van Chi, From Colonialism to Communism (New York: Praeger, 1964), p. 210, is the earliest source I have been able to locate for these mistranslations, though there are rumors of an earlier publication. They have also appeared in later works such as Robert O'Neill, General Giap: Politician and Strategist (New York: Praeger, 1969), pp. 166-67; the Pentagon Papers, IV. A. 5. Tab 3, pp. 11-12 (this passage is in book 2 of the U.S. Government Printing Office edition, and in volume I, p. 246 of the Senator Gravel edition); Douglas Pike, History of Vietnamese Communism, 1925-1976 (Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1978), p. 163n12; Cecil B. Currey, Victory at Any Cost: The Genius of Viet Nam's Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap (Washington: Brassey's, 1997), p. 222; Thurston Clarke, Honorable Exit: How a Few Brave Americans Risked All to Save Our Vietnamese Allies at the End of the War (New York: Doubleday, 2019), p. 117.
        For more accurate translations of these passages, see Edwin Moise, Land Reform in China and North Vietnam (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1983), pp. 246-48. For the original Vietnamese text, see Nhan dan, October 31, 1956, p. 2.

2 Vo Nguyen Giap, People's War, People's Army (Praeger, 1962), p. 101 (see also pp. 46-47). See also Truong Chinh, The Resistance Will Win, 3d ed. (Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1966), p. 72. There is a slightly different translation of this passage in Truong Chinh, Selected Writings (Hanoi: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1977), p. 141.
3 Mao Tse-tung, "On Protracted War," May 1938, in Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung, vol. II (Peking: Foreign Language Press, 1965), pp. 136-37.
4 See for example Colonel Edwin F. Black, "The Master Plan for Conquest in Vietnam," Military Review XLIII:6 (June 1963), p. 54; Martin Clemis, The Control War: The Struggle for South Vietnam, 1968-1975 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2018), p. 40.
5 See for example General Tran Van Nhut, with Christian L. Arevian, An Loc: The Unfinished War (Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2009), pp. 75-76; Col. Robert E. Stoffey, Fighting to Leave: The Final Years of America's War in Vietnam, 1972–1973 (Minneapolis: Zenith Press, 2008), p. 290; Ken Welch, Tiger Hound: How We Won the War & Lost the Country (Denver, CO: Outskirts Press, 2010), p. 146; Nguyen Anh Tuan, America Coming to Terms: The Vietnam Legacy (Philadelphia, PA: Xlibris, 2009), pp. 692–93; Jennifer Thomas, A Different Light: The Vietnam War from a Woman's Point of View (Xlibris, 2010), p. 323; Major (Retired) Steven E. Cook, Don't Cry for Us, Saigon (Meadvill, PA: Christian Faith Publishing, 2018), third paragraph of Chapter 1 [I have seen this only in a Kindle version on Amazon.com that did not show page numbers].
6 See for example David N. Bossie, The Many Faces of John Kerry: Why This Massachusetts Liberal Is Wrong for America (Nashville, TN: WND Books, 2004 [the copyright is shown in the book as 2003, but portions of the book were not even written until well into 2004]), p. 60, read on Google Books 10/6/2019.
7 Edwin Moise, "The Myths of the Tet Offensive," in Michael Aung-Thwin and Kenneth R. Hall, eds., New Perspectives on the History and Historiography of Southeast Asia: Continuing Explorations (London and New York: Routledge, 2011), pp. 249–51.
8 Edwin Moise, The Myths of Tet: The Most Misunderstood Event of the Vietnam War (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2017), pp. 187-189.
9 See for example http://www.morefamousquotes.com/authors/vo-nguyen-giap-quotes/, https://quotestats.com/author/vo-nguyen-giap-quotes/, https://quotefancy.com/quote/1614231/Vo-Nguyen-Giap-Do-not-fear-the-enemy-for-they-can-take-only-your-life-Fear-the-media-far, all read 3/30/2020.
10 See for example Bernard Fall, preface to Vo Nguyen Giap, People's War, People's Army (New York: Praeger, 1962), p. xxxvii; General Lewis Walt, Strange War, Strange Strategy (New York: Award Books, 1971), p. 27; Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr., The Army and Vietnam (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986), p. 238; Bernd Greiner, War Without Fronts (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), p. 39; Daniel P. Bolger, Our Year of War (New York: Da Capo, 2017), p. 62.
11 Bernard Fall, Le Viet Minh 1945-1960 (Paris: Armand Colin, 1960), p. 184.  
12 Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History (New York: Viking, 1983), p. 18. This version was also in Giap's obituary published in the New York Times October 5, 2015.
13 Oriana Fallaci, "'Americans Will Lose,' Says Gen. Giap," Washington Post, April 6, 1969, B4. John Kennedy, "The Master Mind," George Magazine, November 1998, p. 92.

____________________

 

Return to Table of Contents

Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, Edwin E. Moise. This document may be reproduced only by permission. Revised April 5, 2024.