Portrait of the Enemy - Hardcover

Chanoff, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394536711 ISBN 13: 9780394536712

Publisher: Random House, 1986

Synopsis

Here is the story of the "other side" of the Vietnam War--of the Vietcong and North Vietnamese--which has been largely untold until now. In this remarkable piece of oral history, the story emerges of the ordinary people of both North and South Vietnam, of the Vietcong guerrilla fighters and terrorists, North Vietnamese soldiers and cadres, monks, opposition leaders, propaganda chiefs and village secretaries. Vietnam: A Portrait of its People at War provides an account of dedication and heroism at all levels and also of the brutality and trauma faced by a people in the grip of revolution and war.

About this title

From the Back Cover

The American experience during the Vietnam conflict is universally known: the brutalisation of the US fighting men, the drug abuse, and the trauma. Even today the very word 'Vietnam' is too often interpreted as referring to this conflict (and specifically the American perception of it) rather than to the country and its people.

The view from the other side-- the Vietcong and North Vietnamese-- has been virtually ignored. In this remarkable piece of twentieth-century oral history-- now available in paperback for the first time-- the story emerges of the ordinary people of both North and South Vietnam, of the Vietcong guerrilla fighters and terrorists, North Vietnamese soldiers and cadres, monks, opposition leaders, propaganda chiefs and village secretaries. Constructed as a series of interviews, this book provides an account of dedication and heroism at all levels, and also of the brutality and trauma faced by a people in the grip of revolution and a terrifying war.

Those featured in the book describe aspects of the war: the murderous trek down the Ho Chi Minh trail, the self-immolation of Buddhist monks, the methods of Vietcong assassination teams and life under attack from American bombs and napalm. Taken as a whole, the accounts provide a rare insight into the thinking of the 'other side.'

David Chanoff is the author of many books and articles on international issues and is currently based at Brandeis University. Doan Van Toai was formerly a student political leader and then an editor in Saigon, and is now writing a history of the Vietnam War. Together Chanoff and Toai have collaborated on two earlier books.

About the Author

David Chanoff has written the New York Times Magazine,Washington Post and The New Republic and is author of several books, including a collaboration with Ariel Sharon on his autobiography.

Doan Van Toai was a student political leader and anti-war activist in Vietnam, for which he was imprisoned on several occasions. He went into exile in Paris in 1978. He is author of many books including The Vietnamese Gulag.

 

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 0394536711
• ISBN 13: 9780394536712
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 215