Product Description
When he was a student in Paris, Truong Nhu Tang met Ho Chi Minh. Later he fought in the Vietnamese jungle and emerged as one of the major figures in the "fight for liberation" -- and one of the most determined adversaries of the United States. He became the Vietcong's Minister of Justice, but at the end of the war he fled the country in disillusionment and despair. He now lives in exile in Paris, the highest level official to have defected from Vietnam to the West. This is his candid, revealing and unforgettable autobiography.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 18 reviews)

Extremely enlightening.

Troung Nhu Tang was a true freedom fighter to liberate Vietnam from colonial slavery and unite Vietnam for Vietnamese. As an integral part of the North Vietnam political cadres, he gives a unique perspective into the human motives, internal struggles, and bitter resolution to the war. Dismayed at the heavy-handed approach of the Viet Cong, the economic incompetence and the eventual communist enslavement of Vietnam, Mr. Tang defects to the West. If you want to know why America lost the war and the thinking of the VC and NVN, read this book.
March 12, 2008

A Rich Kid Goes To War

Basically this is a personal account of a priviledged Saigon family member who joins the Viet Cong and then becomes very disillusioned with the 'final victory'. While I enjoyed reading parts of this book, most of it reads like a personal diary with many names and characters who few even know.

As a very educated man, the author did not seem to understand that politically aggressive countries like the Soviet Union, the US, China, and even North Viet Nam need to control. So when the South Viet Nam government fell after the US left, North Viet Nam and the Soviet Union swept right into power. How could anyone not see this coming who actually lived most of his life there and dealt with these governments almost daily?

The author also had lived a very comfortable life in Paris for years as a student and later as a Viet Cong official. Later he would also make official visits to Eastern Bloc countries and the Soviet Union getting a good view of their poverty and bread lines. I was amazed that after he saw the contrast between communist countries and capitalistic countries he could ever embrace a communist ideology for his own country. He doesn't really explain his polictical expectations for Viet Nam.

The book describes the Viet Nam struggle from a personal view but never really measures the sacrifice of millions from many countries. The book talks about the 'glorious' meetings in the jungle and the words of 'Uncle Ho' in their hearts but it never discusses the 22,000 buried alive in the Cu Chi Tunnels, or the hundreds of thousands killed during B-52 attacks along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, or the millions dead in the Killing Fields of Cambodia, etc, etc. The irony of this war is that In the end, market forces are driving Viet Nam to a market-based economy where the communist government becomes more irrelevant every day. Capitalism was the enemy for so long and now it is consuming their country. Maybe the author should update his book because now the future is starting to look very bright for Viet Nam!
August 09, 2007

A Vietcong Memoir: An Inside Account of the Vietnam War & Its aftermath

As a Vietnam veteran who survived the Tet Offensive, I was deeply moved to read about the war from the "other" side. Mr. Truong Nhu Tang describes in depth how dedicated the Vietcong leaders were. They were "nationalists" who were intent on saving their country from politicians whom they perceived to be corrupt elitists. After reading his description of life in the jungle it is a wonder any of them survived the hardships of such an existence. The evolution of the Ho Chi Minh Trail was fascinating. I was amazed at The dedication of the workers who were responsible for keeping the trail open...bomb craters from night bombing runs were either filled or detoured around.
February 15, 2007

Poignant personal account of optimism, revolution, and political disillusionment

This is more than an inside story of the Vietcong, it is a personal account of one young man's journey through political optimism to revolutionary zeal to political disillusionment. It is a moving personal tale of the cost paid by so many for what their strongly-held convictions and then the realization that what they fought to win was worse than what they defeated. It is the personal side of revolution and the demise of so many revolutionaries once the struggle is over. A very moving account of the power of an idea and its demands on the lives of those it touches.
November 25, 2006

HEAVY ON POLITICS, NOT ON GUERILLA WARFARE

I gladly award this book a 4-star rating. The author expresses himself well, and certainly has a lot to say about Vietnam's military struggle. He details Vietnam's fight against (1) the French; (2) the U.S.; and (3) North Vietnam and their Soviet supporters.

What's missing is a more gritty description of guerilla warfare. As I was reading this I wrote in the column "So who invented the perkinje pit?", and "How effective were the coca-cola cans you guys turned into bombs?" and "How did you convince housewives to become snipers and kill people?" There is nothing like that here. According to the author the Viet Cong were one big, happy family that had fun together when they weren't being tragically bombed by American B-52s.

Tang's description of Vietnamese politics is even a bit sketchy. He talks quite a bit about Ho Chi Minh's beliefs in "independence," and what a humble, sweet guy "Uncle Ho" was. He never says what Ho's beliefs about guerilla warfare were. Really, how did this "Sweet guy" resolve to have his people put on black pajamas and become killers?

With his high and mighty position in the Viet Cong administration, Tang would have known where the V.C.'s supplies were coming from. He mentions the Ho Chi Minh trail, but nothing about who gave all those poor vietnamese the gear they used. He says that in 1975 the South Vietnamese army (enemies of the Viet Cong) were going to be "outgunned." I remember writing in the column "WHERE'D YOU GET THE GUNS, TANG?"

Basically, this is a very good book. It is NOT a definitive account of guerilla warfare, however.
May 24, 2005

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

The Sorrow of War
by Bao Ninh

America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975 with Poster (4th Edition)
by George C Herring

Vietnam: A History
by Stanley Karnow

Novel without a Name
by Duong Thu Huong
by Phan Huy Duong, Nina McPherson

A Rumor of War
by Philip Caputo