General Giap's Biography, VN, need assistance

[JustANavyMom]

Does anyone know the name of his autobiograph/memoir that was published in 1985 (supposedly)? I can't find the info anywhere.

specifically I am looking for this:
....In his 1985 memoir about the war, Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap wrote that if it weren't for organizations like Kerry's Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Hanoi would have surrendered to the U.S....

Any info on locating this and what it was called would help.

[tryxter]

How We Won the War
People's War People's Army: The Viet Cong Insurrection Manual for Underdeveloped Countries
Military Art of People's War: Selected Writings
Banner of People's War, the Party's military line
The South Vietnam People Will Win
National liberation war in Viet Nam; general line, strategy, tactics
"Big victory, great task"; North Viet-Nam's Minister of Defense assesses the course of the war

All by Vo Nguyen Giap

Here’s a reference to what your looking for, doesn’t say which book.

“The misreporting, along with Communist and North Vietnamese agents in the United States, led to demonstrations in the streets by Americans in protest of the war. Gen. Giap later wrote in his book, that the news media reporting and the demonstrations in America surprised them. Instead of seeking a conditional surrender, they would now hold out because America's resolve was weakening and the possibility of victory could be theirs.”
http://www.1stcavmedic.com/tet_offensive_of_1968.htm

And there is this.

Book Title: Following Ho Chi Minh: Memoirs of a North Vietnamese Colonel (Crawford House, New South Wales, 202 pages, A$24.95)
Written by Bui Tin

AS AN OFFICER AND a journalist for the North Vietnamese army newspaper, Bui Tin knew many of the political leaders of the post-French era in Indochina. Twice he made the dangerous journey down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was the main military supply route from the North through the Laotian panhandle to the South during the American phase of Vietnam's wars of independence.He was one of the first high-ranking communists to enter Saigon when the government of South Vietnam collapsed in 1975. That probably was the high point of his career. Bui Tin rapidly became disillusioned with the post-war regime as it sank into corruption and arrogance. Bui Tin was particularly appalled at the political humiliation of his long-time mentor, Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, the hero of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. But what turned him totally and irrevocably against the communist regime was the colonial attitude of his country's leaders toward Laos and Cambodia, which Vietnam's army invaded in 1979. Bui Tin fled Vietnam in 1990 and became a powerful critic ofthe communist regime from the safety of the U.S.
Quote from his book
In a recent interview published in The Wall Street Journal, former colonel Bui Tin who served on the general staff of the North Vietnamese Army and received the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975 confirmed the American Tet 1968 military victory: "Our loses were staggering and a complete surprise. Giap later told me that Tet had been a military defeat, though we had gained the planned political advantages when Johnson agreed to negotiate and did not run for reelection.
The second and third waves in May and September were, in retrospect, mistakes. Our forces in the South were nearly wiped out by all the fighting in 1968. It took us until 1971 to reestablish our presence but we had to use North Vietnamese troops as local guerrillas. If the American forces had not begun to withdraw under Nixon in 1969, they could have punished us severely.
We suffered badly in 1969 and 1970 as it was." And on strategy: "If Johnson had granted Westmoreland's requests to enter Laos and block the Ho Chi Minh trail, Hanoi could not have won the war.... it was the only way to bring sufficient military power to bear on the fighting in the South. Building and maintaining the trail was a huge effort involving tens of thousands of
soldiers, drivers, repair teams, medical stations, communication units .... our operations were never compromised by attacks on the trail. At times, accurate B-52 strikes would cause real damage, but we put so much in at the top of the trail that enough men and weapons to prolong the war always came out the bottom .... if all the bombing had been concentrated at one time, it would
have hurt our efforts. But the bombing was expanded in slow stages under Johnson and it didn't worry us. We had plenty of time to prepare alternative routes and facilities. We always had stockpiles of rice ready to feed the people for months if a harvest was damaged. The Soviets bought rice from Thailand for us. And the left: "Support for the war from our rear was completely secure while the American rear was vulnerable. Every day our leadership would listen to world news over the radio at 9AM to follow the growth of the antiwar movement.
Visits to Hanoi by Jane Fonda and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and ministers gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses. We were elated when Jane Fonda, wearing a red Vietnamese dress, said at a press conference that she was ashamed of American actions in the war and would struggle along with us .... those people represented the conscience of America .... part of it's war- making capability, and we turning that power in our favor." Bui Tin went on to serve as the editor of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Disillusioned with the reality of Vietnamese communism Bui Tin now lives in Paris.

THE USE OF LEAFLETS IN THE PROPAGANDA WAR IN VIETNAM 1945 TO 1975
http://www.oakland.mcmail.com/vietnam.htm

“The anti-war movement and consequent demonstrations in America, and anti-war statements made by politicians and other prominent figures in America, were a gift to the communist propagandists. Associated images and words were seized upon and included in the leaflets. The rhetoric of Senators Wayne Morse, McGovern, E. Gruening and others who were against the war found its way into the leaflets. Pictures of demonstrations across America usually showing banners with headlines such as “Get out of Vietnam”, “Bring the troops home now” and “My son died in vain… don’t fight… go to prison” were widely used. Many GIs awaiting their next round of war duty and wounded veterans joined the demonstrations. They formed organisations such as “GIs United Against the War in Vietnam” and “Vietnam Veterans Against the War” which were referred to on the leaflets.”

http://web.syr.edu/~kjhall/ETS192/lw/lw.htm
“In all likelihood, in time, the Americans could have won the war. But due in large part to the Tet offensive, the war received terrible press. This anti-war sentiment was strong amongst the people as well. Los Angeles Times writer Robert Elegant wrote that, "For the first time in modern history, the outcome of a war was determined not on the battlefield, but on the printed page and, above all, on the television screen."”

[JustANavyMom]

Thank you very much. i appreciate the assistance. :) :)

Lots of reading ahead of me from the links you provided.

If you ever figure out "which" book that quote is from, let me know. I may need to read most of his 1975 - 1985 to try and source it exactly.

[ktek01]

One of the reviews makes it sound like it was in this book, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0916894010/qid=1077504233/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-5269624-3922401?v=glance&s=books

[JustANavyMom]

Originally posted by ktek01
One of the reviews makes it sound like it was in this book, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0916894010/qid=1077504233/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-5269624-3922401?v=glance&s=books

Thanks Ktek, thanks to you I ordered it :) I'll let you know if it turns out to be "the one"

[JustANavyMom]

Originally posted by ktek01
One of the reviews makes it sound like it was in this book, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0916894010/qid=1077504233/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-5269624-3922401?v=glance&s=books

Ok, it's not in this book. How We Won The War is a reprint of an article Gen Giap wrote in 1975 under the title "A New Development of the art of Leading a Revolutionary War" from the Vietnam Courier, Aug, Sept 1975.

The only reference in the book published by Recon Publications to the anti-war movement is an article by Danny Schechter which was published in the Boston Phoenix, 5/6/75 and WIN magazine 7/24/75 entitled "Introduction: The Fall of Washington". His 9th bulleted point is "Rallied the World's People". He talks about the postive effect the anti-war movement made on the Vietnamese victory.

This is exactly why I think original sources are important (or as close as I can get, if I felt the need I'll go find the original article in the library). I'm thinking it's in a later book OR whoever spouted off on the statement originally didn't notice the first 2 parts of this book are not by Gen Giap but rather by Chris Robinson and Danny Schechter.

I bought the book directly from RECON Publishing so I'll email him to see if he knows which book it's from, if any. I'm curious as to it's veracity.

[JustANavyMom]

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20040315/i/r3657257926.jpg

Vietnam General Vo Nguyen Giap, 92, looks on at a veterans meeting in Hanoi March 13, 2004. Giap is the mastermind of the historic defeat of the French in 1954 in Dien Bien Phu. Vietnam is gearing up for the 50th anniversary of the victory which led to the signing of the 1954 Geneva agreement. Picture taken March 13, 2004. REUTERS/Str