William J. Duiker

I read this book after reading a biography of Mao and Chiang Kai-shek and several books about the USSR relating to China during Ho's lifetime. This was a necessary background explaining the tightrope Vietnam walked between these two foreign countries and Communist theory. Ho Chi Minh worked for two things, independence and unification for his country. Way back when the US was occupying Vietnam I am sure I really understood this. Vietnam seemed to be the American story.....for Vietnam if was show more France as colonizer for the US the British. We had George Washington, they had Ho Chi Minh. Our soldiers died for unification half a century after our constitution, Vietnam got unification sooner. Korea has not unified and the results are bad.

This is an excellent book. Excellent features are photographs, excellent maps, and a list, with abbreviations of organizations and short explanations to help the reader keep up with all the acronyms.
I agree with reviewer belgrade18 who follows me, that a similar list for individuals would be helpful. show less

An outstanding biography. I do not have a strong background in Southeast Asian history, so I cannot comment on where the book falls in the context of books on the region. However, the book is very well written and appears to be thoroughly researched. The author takes a very non-judgmental approach, not making Ho out to be an unerring saint or a villain, merely reporting the facts as he has been able to determine them from a wide range of sources from Vietnam to Moscow, Beijing and Paris. The show more book is as much a history of Vietnam from 1890 to 1970 as it is a biography of Ho, which is appropriate and actually just what I was hoping for. Many details of Ho's life appear to be difficult to document, including his true feelings about Communism and the West and the nature of his personal relationships, especially his romantic life, which sometimes makes it a challenge to relate to him from a Western perspective. This is particularly true for the end of his life after World War II ended, when the book mainly discusses events in Vietnam instead of Ho himself. Yes, the book is long- nearly 600 very intense pages filled with facts that are not always easily digested, and I did get lost among the names of the many Vietnamese patriots discussed, however I quickly got my bearings and settled into a good pace. Highly recommended for those interested in Ho and events in French Indochina, France, China and the Soviet Union during the period. show less

This is a fine biography by an author who knows his subject and his subject's homeland.

He was flawed (like all leaders) but freed Vietnam from French rule and generally did what he though was right.