Victory at Any Cost PDF
Preview Victory at Any Cost
'.*/ THE GENIUS OF NAM'S VIET VO NGUYEN GIAF Gen. CURREY CECIL B. Foreword by JOHN KEEGAN $25.95 Most people do not understand why America lost the Viet Nam War. After J you read this book, one primary reason will be clear: North Viet Nam's Senior General Vo Nguyen Giap ranks among thegreatest of military geniuses. Giap began preparing for his wars hiding in a cave with Viet Nam's future leader, Ho Chi Minh. Giap had no troops, no equipment, no formal mili- tary education or training. Through sheer determi- nation, he forged a military duringWorld War II that helped defeat the Japanese. He then drove the French out ofViet Nam, crushing them in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu. One of history's great epic battles, it foretold the end ofWestern colonialism. Twenty-one years later, the United States lost its first warwhen Saigon fell. Until now, reports ofGiap's life story have been a patchwork oferroneous information and larger- than-life legends. Even his date of birth has been misreported. VictoryatAnyCostis the only thor- oughly documented and complete biography of Giap from his birth through his schooling; his exile in China; his complex relationships with the French, Ho Chi Minh, and the contentious Communist Party; his early role as journalist and propagandist; his development of a victorious peasant army; and his genius at defeating superior forces. This well- written narrative is made richer by the author's insightsgained as a respected military historian, U.S. Army officer, and author oftwo highly acclaimed books on the Viet Nam War. Cecil Currey spices this book throughout with his analysis ofthe campaigns, battles, strategy, and tactics ofGiap and his opponents. To prepare this definitive biography, Currey spent five years examining every aspect of Giap's life. He conducted extensive research into primary sources, interviewed scores of Giap's col- leagues, and spent days with Giap, whose coop- eration was unprecedented. Giap even answered further questions that Currey smuggled to him and gave Currey exclusive use ofsome oithe ph to- graphs in this book. Giap cooperated, but VictoryatAnyCost also tells the full story of his mistakes and his ruthless com- (C iinued on backflap) S7.10I7 DS £S7 VICTORY AT ANY COST Otherbooksbythe author: RoadtoRevolution CodeNumber 72 The CraftandCraftingofHistory ReasonandRevelation Guide toImagesofAmerica Self-Destruction FollowMeandDie With WingsasEagles EdwardLansdale ForGodandCountry (withIsraelDrazinj Victory at any COST The Genius of Viet Nam's Gen. Vn Nguyen Giap CURREY CECIL B. 318 s*rrrEH street SAW RtANCTSCO, CA 94108 BRASSEY S, INC. Washingion London Copyright©1997byCecilB.Currey AllrightsreservedunderInternationalandPan-American CopyrightConventions.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproduced withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Currey,CecilB. VictoryatAnyCost:thegeniusofVietNam'sGen.VoNguyen Giap/CecilB.Currey. p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN1-57488-056-X — — 1.Vo,NguyenGiap, 1912- 2.G—enerals Vietnam Biography. 3.Vietnam.Quandoinhandandoi Biography. I.Title. DS560.72.V6C871996 959.704'34'092^dc20 [B] 96-15404 DesignedbyTanyaPerez FirstE9dit8ion7654321 10 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica Dedicatedtomygrandchildren Alessio Benjamin BarrConte, AnnaliseEstelleCurrey Conte, and Mara Cheyenne Tack andto my adviser ARVN LieutenantGeneral Vinhhoc, (Ret.) my translator LeHongLam and MyBrightandMorningStar Theyhelped!
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