A poignant and rare--perhaps the only--contemporaneous Viet Minh diary of the siege of Dien Bien Phu that marked the end of French colonial rule in Indochina and the start of direct US military intervention in Vietnam that led to the Vietnam War (1946-1954). Written from an anti-colonial perspective, the diary of Ph m Thanh T???m is a humane and moving account by a young war reporter and artist coming of age during "a sanguinary battle that has since turned out to have immense historic importance." On May 7, 1954, the ...
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A poignant and rare--perhaps the only--contemporaneous Viet Minh diary of the siege of Dien Bien Phu that marked the end of French colonial rule in Indochina and the start of direct US military intervention in Vietnam that led to the Vietnam War (1946-1954). Written from an anti-colonial perspective, the diary of Ph m Thanh T???m is a humane and moving account by a young war reporter and artist coming of age during "a sanguinary battle that has since turned out to have immense historic importance." On May 7, 1954, the Vietnamese forces fighting for independence, the communist Viet Minh, won an unexpected victory at the battle of Dien Bien Phu against the French colonial forces who were receiving massive US military financial aid and air support to fight the expansion of communism in the region. Drawing Under Fire , discovered by journalist Sherry Buchanan and first published in hardback in 2005 in the United Kingdom and in 2011 in France, fills a gap in history as the first English translation and critical edition of one Viet Minh's diary of life and death at Dien Bien Phu. Both sides suffered such huge casualties that US journalist Bernard G. Fall described the siege as "hell in a very small place." During the First Indochina War or French War (1946-1954), the twenty-two-year-old Ph m Thanh T???m, armed only with his Waterman pen, pencils, and a Chinese ink bottle, joined the Viet Minh heavy artillery division besieging the French military camp in the remote mountain valley of Dien Bien Phu. He wrote his diary at night, under relentless French aerial bombings, napalm strikes, and tank shelling. He describes in vivid detail how his fellow soldiers lacked food, clothes, and ammunition; how they managed to move one-ton guns to hilltops to surround the French; how they built fortified gun emplacements twenty feet deep into the hills and slept underground next to their cannons; how they camouflaged the guns that remained undetected by French surveillance planes; and how sappers scooped the earth out with their bare hands to dig miles of tunnels to protect the infantry's advance. Through his words and sketches, Ph m Thanh T???m gives a voice and a face to his fellow soldiers, their youthful bravado, and their determination to win, but also to their tears and their suffering. He confides in his diary his patriotic enthusiasm to free his country from the French who bombed his home; his admiration for the bravery of the fighters; his trauma witnessing his fighter-friends blown to pieces; his love of beauty and nature when he discovers a tranquil stream untouched by bombs; his unrequited love for an actress in a frontline theatre group; and his hopes for an end to the war. On May 7, 1954, the night of the French surrender, an emotional T???m penned a poetic note in his diary, "grateful to be alive" when so many had perished: "Tonight, as I lie under the stars, I feel both calm and excited. I try to forget all the nights when the bombings shook my entire body. I'm sure I'll fall asleep right away. I'm worn out and grateful to be alive." As the prominent French journalist Jean Guisnel commented, "This is a must read for the strength of the account told without hatred."
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Add this copy of Drawing Under Fire: War Diary of a Young Vietnamese to cart. $8.67, very good condition, Sold by Books From California rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Simi Valley, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Asia Ink.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 224 p. The Vietnam Collection. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Drawing Under Fire: War Diary of a Young Vietnamese to cart. $13.62, like new condition, Sold by Books From California rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Simi Valley, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Asia Ink.
Add this copy of Drawing Under Fire: War Diary of a Young Vietnamese to cart. $14.14, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Asia Ink/Asia Society.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 224 p. The Vietnam Collection. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Drawing Under Fire: War Diary of a Young Vietnamese to cart. $14.15, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2024 by Asia Ink/Asia Society.
Add this copy of Drawing Under Fire: War Diary of a Young Vietnamese to cart. $21.15, new condition, Sold by Book Culture Inc. rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from New York, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2024 by Asia Ink/Asia Society.
