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The Warriors
Võ Nguyên Giáp: Chiến Thắng Bằng Mọi Giá
Tells the full story of the man who fought three of the worlds great powersand won. Cecil B. Currey makes clear one primary reason why America lost the Vietnam War: Vo Nguyen Giap. He has written the definitive biography of one of historys greatest generals.
437 pages, ebook
First published November 1, 1996
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May 14, 2009
Americans spend a lot of time agonizing over the Vietnam War. Who is to blame for losing this conflict? The political leaders? The military? The media? Was it the protesting college students? The hippies? The anti-war left?
Maybe North Vietnam had something to do with it.
"Victory at Any Cost--the Genius of Viet Nam's Vo Nguyen Giap" by Cecil Currey reminds us that one can't study any war without understanding "the other side." Currey bypasses much of the turgid, politically correct communist hagiography and agitprop that usually surrounds a good Communist like a red halo. He goes straight ot the source, interviewing Giap himself and providing an insightful recount of the disagreements and divergences in the North vietnamese Politburo during the war against the French, and later the Americans.
Giap was a self-taught general who did what he could with what he had. He understood there was no way his meager, under gunned forces could ever fight a modern, western power on terms that even approached parity. So he played to his country's strength--it's massive peasant population, which had to be politically unified so that the enemy could be outnumbered.
"He who defends everything defends nothing," is an oft-repeated maxim in military history. Giap had an intuitive understanding of this reality. Guerillas controlled the countryside between the few strongpoints that the French, and later hte Americans, would control. With freedom of movement and action, Giap could mass his forces to overrun the isolated outposts, forcing his enemy to give up even more countryside. By protracting a conflict, he could simply wait out his enemy, as the political will needed for an enemy nation to support its war effort collapses for lack of results.
There were times when Giap tried to fight the French, and later the Americans, on western terms, with masses of infantry and artillery. Sometimes he tried to do this too soon and got his head handed to him, which is what happened in his 1951 offensive against the French or the 1968 Tet offensive against the U.S. But then he could follow it up with a Dien Bien Phu, which pretty much destroyed the French war effort. While he did not command the army in the 1975 offensive that took down South Vietnam, the army he created did, and proved resilient enough to defeat the Chinese and the Cambodians as well.
"Victory at Any Cost" does not give Giap a free pass. Currey points out the general's shortcomings, his impatience for results that sometimes led to premature attacks and stunning defeats. Nor does Currey pull his punches when describing how a Communist Revolution eliminates rivals in its ruthless march to power, using democracy to destroy it and achieve a monopoly on power. He will tell "the other side of the story," whether by citing recollections of a non-Communist on the losing side of the Hanoi power struggle while fighting France, or the Diem regime setting up shop in Saigon with U.S. aid.
But Currey did not set out to write an anti-Communist book, despite his clearly American background. Giap won his war against the United States and France. The author explains why and analyzes how, while avoiding the pitfall of right-wing rhetoric that prefers to fix blame on opponents as an explanation of defeat.
It will be another generation until we get an impartial history of the Vietnam War that is not polluted by present-day political agendas. It seems every author has an ax to grind, and history is the battlefield to refight past battles. A reader with an interest in this period of history will have to build up his own library on this topic, reading many different books to build up a reasonable understanding that takes all factors into account.
Final irony: "Victory at Any Cost" is put out by Potomac Books, a publishing unit of the Association of the United States Army. It would have been so easy for them to put out yet another revisionist book claiming "we could have won." To the credit of Potomac Books, they did not. I have no idea what the rest of their line-up is like.
Maybe North Vietnam had something to do with it.
"Victory at Any Cost--the Genius of Viet Nam's Vo Nguyen Giap" by Cecil Currey reminds us that one can't study any war without understanding "the other side." Currey bypasses much of the turgid, politically correct communist hagiography and agitprop that usually surrounds a good Communist like a red halo. He goes straight ot the source, interviewing Giap himself and providing an insightful recount of the disagreements and divergences in the North vietnamese Politburo during the war against the French, and later the Americans.
Giap was a self-taught general who did what he could with what he had. He understood there was no way his meager, under gunned forces could ever fight a modern, western power on terms that even approached parity. So he played to his country's strength--it's massive peasant population, which had to be politically unified so that the enemy could be outnumbered.
"He who defends everything defends nothing," is an oft-repeated maxim in military history. Giap had an intuitive understanding of this reality. Guerillas controlled the countryside between the few strongpoints that the French, and later hte Americans, would control. With freedom of movement and action, Giap could mass his forces to overrun the isolated outposts, forcing his enemy to give up even more countryside. By protracting a conflict, he could simply wait out his enemy, as the political will needed for an enemy nation to support its war effort collapses for lack of results.
There were times when Giap tried to fight the French, and later the Americans, on western terms, with masses of infantry and artillery. Sometimes he tried to do this too soon and got his head handed to him, which is what happened in his 1951 offensive against the French or the 1968 Tet offensive against the U.S. But then he could follow it up with a Dien Bien Phu, which pretty much destroyed the French war effort. While he did not command the army in the 1975 offensive that took down South Vietnam, the army he created did, and proved resilient enough to defeat the Chinese and the Cambodians as well.
"Victory at Any Cost" does not give Giap a free pass. Currey points out the general's shortcomings, his impatience for results that sometimes led to premature attacks and stunning defeats. Nor does Currey pull his punches when describing how a Communist Revolution eliminates rivals in its ruthless march to power, using democracy to destroy it and achieve a monopoly on power. He will tell "the other side of the story," whether by citing recollections of a non-Communist on the losing side of the Hanoi power struggle while fighting France, or the Diem regime setting up shop in Saigon with U.S. aid.
But Currey did not set out to write an anti-Communist book, despite his clearly American background. Giap won his war against the United States and France. The author explains why and analyzes how, while avoiding the pitfall of right-wing rhetoric that prefers to fix blame on opponents as an explanation of defeat.
It will be another generation until we get an impartial history of the Vietnam War that is not polluted by present-day political agendas. It seems every author has an ax to grind, and history is the battlefield to refight past battles. A reader with an interest in this period of history will have to build up his own library on this topic, reading many different books to build up a reasonable understanding that takes all factors into account.
Final irony: "Victory at Any Cost" is put out by Potomac Books, a publishing unit of the Association of the United States Army. It would have been so easy for them to put out yet another revisionist book claiming "we could have won." To the credit of Potomac Books, they did not. I have no idea what the rest of their line-up is like.
December 17, 2013
Cecil B. Currey's book on Vo Nguyen Giap is an utterly excellent book! It's gripping, engaging, provides historical context, contains essential quotes, and shows Giap to be the logistical, tactical, and strategic genius he was as a general leading North Vietnam to defeat the Japanese, the French, the US, the South Vietnamese, the Cambodians, and the Chinese. No one else has done so much with so little. I'm going to reprint my review for Giap: The General Who Defeated America in Vietnam by James A. Warren (a book I read a few months ago...) in its entirety here, because I think many of the same things can be said about this book. Read on.
Giap: The General Who Defeated America in Vietnam by James A. Warren
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
General Vo Nguyen Giap was the North Vietnamese mastermind who defeated the French and American superpowers over 30 years in what was previously an unthinkable possibility -- that countries with so so much more military and economic power could lose to an underdeveloped third world country. And yet it happened. (Also, Giap had to battle the Japanese toward the end of World War Two.)
Giap came from humble beginnings -- a history professor turned professional solider from the Quang Binh Province of Vietnam. He was self taught. Aside from Hi Chi Minh, Giap was probably North Vietnam's most important figure. He learned communism from Ho and never strayed. He learned how to battle from the Chinese and adapted what he learned to the Vietnamese battlefield. When the Vietminh defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu to end the French colonial war with what was then Indochina, he showed that he had mastered guerrilla tactics as well as conventional war strategies, and these carried over to the American war. He was also a master at logistics. It took months for the Vietminh to carry broken down parts of artillery pieces up into the mountains surrounding Dien Bien Phu, where they were then assembled and used with devastating success. Another strength Giap possessed was learning that the political counted as much as the military. He indoctrinated his soldiers, the Vietnamese peasants, and won a war of attrition against both France and America -- both countries, he knew, that wouldn't have the stomach for a protracted war. He was right. Now he took horrifying losses throughout both wars. When all was said and done, the NVA and Vietminh lost over a million soldiers (to America's 56,000), but he knew that a country united in revolution against colonialism was destined for victory. He never lacked in confidence. The Tet offensive was, of course, the turning point in the Vietnam war with America. Looked at it militarily, the US won, giving the NVA and Viet Cong horrifying casualties, but strategically, North Vietnam won because America now wanted out and started the process of withdrawing troops and halting the bombing of North Vietnam in an effort to get to the negotiating table -- a place where America had no leverage.
The author makes some good points in his final chapter in this excellent book.
"The power of the US military machine posted immense challenges to Giap as a commander. He knew that the conflict would result in horrific losses, but he also realized that those causalities were the inevitable cost of victory, and neither the reality of those casualties, as regrettable as they were, nor the destructive capacity of American forces, would prove to be decisive factors in the war's outcome.... Giap was first and foremost a revolutionary war strategist, which is to say he conceived of war primarily as a social struggle by people committed to breaking down the status quo and replacing it with a new set of power relationships and institutions, not as a strictly military activity carried out by full-time soldiers and guerrillas.... the work of building a powerful political infrastructure that could challenge French and American efforts was far more important than achieving victory in a series of conventional military battles and campaigns.... He also believed that he could instill a sense of futility and exhaustion in the French and American armies by avoiding large-scale combat engagements in favor of harassing tactics, including ambushes, booby traps, and luring the enemy into patrolling forbidding mountainous terrain and steamy jungles where his own troops were more at home."
"Giap never doubted that the power of his soldiers' and citizen's commitment to the Vietnamese revolutionary vision would compensate for the inferiority of their military forces. It was only necessary to instill the same level of belief and determination he himself possessed for the cause into the Revolution as a whole, and to direct that energy toward victory.... When all is said and done, Giap's enduring importance lies in recognizing that he was a successful general largely because he could see with extraordinary clarity all the factors and forces that shaped the trajectory of the wars in which he fought, and how each element related to all the others."
Giap then, who might still be alive at over 100 years old, was the instrumental commander that foresaw victory and instilled that vision in his troops and citizens. He was Ho's second, and as such, wielded great power. He built his army up from a tiny platoon in 1945 to hundreds of thousands of hardened troops by war's end. When the NVA rolled into Saigon in 1975, the revolution was complete and Vietnam was reunited. Communist, yes, but under no colonial authority for the first time in over a century. It was a mighty struggle, and even though I'm an American, I've studied this war for decades and have seen how American stupidity lost us the war -- which we could have won with the right strategies and leadership, I believe. Giap's commitment never wavered. He should be looked at as one of the greatest military leaders of all time. I can't think of a single instance in which a tiny, impoverished, technically backwards country defeated two of the world's superpowers within two to three decades of each other. His legacy will live on for a long time. This was an excellent book to read and I certainly recommend it to any military buff or historian, or to anyone interested in the Vietnam war. Great book!
______________________________________________________
Well, that's what I wrote about the previous book, and the same holds true for this one. The thing that separates them, I think, is Currey actually got to interview Giap for this book. It made it more compelling. There was more narrative and a lot more on actual thought patterns and secrets behind North Vietnam's successes. I also didn't know that Giap whipped China when China invaded in 1979. Truly amazing. After Ho died, though, the Politburo demoted him several times over the years, and that was disgraceful for the founder of that country's army and leader of victorious military campaigns. Still, he handled himself with grace and dignity and while he wasn't always the most likeable person in the world, you can't come away from this book without some sort of admiration for the man. Truly one of the greatest generals in history. Recommended.
Giap: The General Who Defeated America in Vietnam by James A. Warren
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
General Vo Nguyen Giap was the North Vietnamese mastermind who defeated the French and American superpowers over 30 years in what was previously an unthinkable possibility -- that countries with so so much more military and economic power could lose to an underdeveloped third world country. And yet it happened. (Also, Giap had to battle the Japanese toward the end of World War Two.)
Giap came from humble beginnings -- a history professor turned professional solider from the Quang Binh Province of Vietnam. He was self taught. Aside from Hi Chi Minh, Giap was probably North Vietnam's most important figure. He learned communism from Ho and never strayed. He learned how to battle from the Chinese and adapted what he learned to the Vietnamese battlefield. When the Vietminh defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu to end the French colonial war with what was then Indochina, he showed that he had mastered guerrilla tactics as well as conventional war strategies, and these carried over to the American war. He was also a master at logistics. It took months for the Vietminh to carry broken down parts of artillery pieces up into the mountains surrounding Dien Bien Phu, where they were then assembled and used with devastating success. Another strength Giap possessed was learning that the political counted as much as the military. He indoctrinated his soldiers, the Vietnamese peasants, and won a war of attrition against both France and America -- both countries, he knew, that wouldn't have the stomach for a protracted war. He was right. Now he took horrifying losses throughout both wars. When all was said and done, the NVA and Vietminh lost over a million soldiers (to America's 56,000), but he knew that a country united in revolution against colonialism was destined for victory. He never lacked in confidence. The Tet offensive was, of course, the turning point in the Vietnam war with America. Looked at it militarily, the US won, giving the NVA and Viet Cong horrifying casualties, but strategically, North Vietnam won because America now wanted out and started the process of withdrawing troops and halting the bombing of North Vietnam in an effort to get to the negotiating table -- a place where America had no leverage.
The author makes some good points in his final chapter in this excellent book.
"The power of the US military machine posted immense challenges to Giap as a commander. He knew that the conflict would result in horrific losses, but he also realized that those causalities were the inevitable cost of victory, and neither the reality of those casualties, as regrettable as they were, nor the destructive capacity of American forces, would prove to be decisive factors in the war's outcome.... Giap was first and foremost a revolutionary war strategist, which is to say he conceived of war primarily as a social struggle by people committed to breaking down the status quo and replacing it with a new set of power relationships and institutions, not as a strictly military activity carried out by full-time soldiers and guerrillas.... the work of building a powerful political infrastructure that could challenge French and American efforts was far more important than achieving victory in a series of conventional military battles and campaigns.... He also believed that he could instill a sense of futility and exhaustion in the French and American armies by avoiding large-scale combat engagements in favor of harassing tactics, including ambushes, booby traps, and luring the enemy into patrolling forbidding mountainous terrain and steamy jungles where his own troops were more at home."
"Giap never doubted that the power of his soldiers' and citizen's commitment to the Vietnamese revolutionary vision would compensate for the inferiority of their military forces. It was only necessary to instill the same level of belief and determination he himself possessed for the cause into the Revolution as a whole, and to direct that energy toward victory.... When all is said and done, Giap's enduring importance lies in recognizing that he was a successful general largely because he could see with extraordinary clarity all the factors and forces that shaped the trajectory of the wars in which he fought, and how each element related to all the others."
Giap then, who might still be alive at over 100 years old, was the instrumental commander that foresaw victory and instilled that vision in his troops and citizens. He was Ho's second, and as such, wielded great power. He built his army up from a tiny platoon in 1945 to hundreds of thousands of hardened troops by war's end. When the NVA rolled into Saigon in 1975, the revolution was complete and Vietnam was reunited. Communist, yes, but under no colonial authority for the first time in over a century. It was a mighty struggle, and even though I'm an American, I've studied this war for decades and have seen how American stupidity lost us the war -- which we could have won with the right strategies and leadership, I believe. Giap's commitment never wavered. He should be looked at as one of the greatest military leaders of all time. I can't think of a single instance in which a tiny, impoverished, technically backwards country defeated two of the world's superpowers within two to three decades of each other. His legacy will live on for a long time. This was an excellent book to read and I certainly recommend it to any military buff or historian, or to anyone interested in the Vietnam war. Great book!
______________________________________________________
Well, that's what I wrote about the previous book, and the same holds true for this one. The thing that separates them, I think, is Currey actually got to interview Giap for this book. It made it more compelling. There was more narrative and a lot more on actual thought patterns and secrets behind North Vietnam's successes. I also didn't know that Giap whipped China when China invaded in 1979. Truly amazing. After Ho died, though, the Politburo demoted him several times over the years, and that was disgraceful for the founder of that country's army and leader of victorious military campaigns. Still, he handled himself with grace and dignity and while he wasn't always the most likeable person in the world, you can't come away from this book without some sort of admiration for the man. Truly one of the greatest generals in history. Recommended.
May 3, 2013
Cuốn sách này không hoàn toàn thuyết phục tôi. Tôi đoán là ông Currey viết tiểu sử Võ Nguyên Giáp với một kết luận có sẵn trong đầu , và cuốn sách của ông là nhằm chứng minh kết luận đó - rằng Võ Nguyên Giáp là một thiên tài quân sự. Với cách tiếp cận như vậy, ông gần như gán mọi thắng lợi quân sự của cách mạng Việt Nam trong hai cuộc chiến tranh cho Võ Nguyên Giáp, và những thất bại cho người khác, ví dụ như Trường Chinh hay Lê Duẩn. Dù vậy, đây vẫn là một cuốn sách đáng đọc.
August 29, 2021
Biografia completa soprattutto dal punto di vista militare. Quella che è emerge è la figura di un devotissimo patriota, interamente dedito alla causa del suo paese.
La parabola di Vo Nguyen Giap non può non essere esaltante. Giap, da semplice professore di storia, militò nel partito comunista e costruì letteralmente da zero l'esercito vietnamita.
Il suo genio militare è consistito soprattutto in due aspetti: l'incredibili capacità logistica di rifornire migliaia di uomini con mezzi primitivi; le sconfitte inflitte ad eserciti sempre superiori in tutto (armamento, organizzazione ecc).
L'autore approfondisce dunque la narrazione militare; quella privata e personale rimane un po' in secondo piano. Ottima la documentazione di prima mano, anche se il libro è un po' vecchiotto (prima metà anni '90, considerando che Giap è morto nel 2013).
Consigliato sia come biografia di Giap (uno dei più grandi capi militari del XX secolo) ma anche come introduzione alla guerra del Vietnam.
La parabola di Vo Nguyen Giap non può non essere esaltante. Giap, da semplice professore di storia, militò nel partito comunista e costruì letteralmente da zero l'esercito vietnamita.
Il suo genio militare è consistito soprattutto in due aspetti: l'incredibili capacità logistica di rifornire migliaia di uomini con mezzi primitivi; le sconfitte inflitte ad eserciti sempre superiori in tutto (armamento, organizzazione ecc).
L'autore approfondisce dunque la narrazione militare; quella privata e personale rimane un po' in secondo piano. Ottima la documentazione di prima mano, anche se il libro è un po' vecchiotto (prima metà anni '90, considerando che Giap è morto nel 2013).
Consigliato sia come biografia di Giap (uno dei più grandi capi militari del XX secolo) ma anche come introduzione alla guerra del Vietnam.
February 20, 2019
Một cuốn sách lịch sử bạn nên đọc. Không những khắc họa rõ nét chân dung con người Đại tướng mà qua đó ta còn hiểu rõ hơn nhiều chi tiết trong hai cuộc chiến tranh của dân dân tộc.
- Mĩ và Việt nam đã từng là đồng minh trên mặt trận chống phát xít Nhật. Biệt đội "Con Nai" đã huấn luyện và cung cấp một số vũ khí cho Quân đội Việt Nam thời kì mới thành lập, chuẩn bị cho Cách mạng Tháng 8. Những câu chuyện về Biệt đội Con Nai "The Dear Team" hay mối thân tình thú vị của Bác, Đại tướng với các thành viên trong OSS (tiền thân của CIA ngày nay) khiến mình suy nghĩ rằng liệu đó có phải là hột cơ hội đã bị bỏ lỡ từ cả hai phía không? Liệu nếu bức thư từ Bác được chính phủ Mỹ xem xét kĩ hơn thì bức tranh chiến tranh 30 năm có thay đổi?
- Trung Quốc THỰC SỰ đã viện trợ cho ta một khối lượng khổng lồ từ vũ khí đến nhân lực, thực phẩm. Nhưng họ chưa bao giờ muốn tốt cho ta. Năm 1946, Bác thà để Pháp quay lại miền Bắc còn hơn là lưu lại quân Tưởng "Các anh điên rồi sao, các anh có hiểu là không bằng lòng cho Pháp vào có nghĩa là để người Trung Hoa ở lại không? Các anh có hiểu lịch sử không? Lần trước người Trung Hoa đến đây, họ đã ở lại một nghìn năm. Lần này họ đến nữa, họ sẽ không bao giờ đi khỏi đây"
- Nhìn một cách tổng thể, cuộc chiến của chúng ta là sự kết hợp cả quân sự lẫn chính trị. Trong đó mục tiêu chính trị phải được đặt lên trên cả quân sự. Đây không phải là cuộc chiến kiểu cổ điển
- Những con người thời chiến! Họ thật sự rất phi thường!
* Dịch giả: Nguyễn Văn Sự. Không có gì để bàn về dịch thuật ở đây. Bên cạnh đó, cụ Sự còn là một người rất am hiểu về lịch sử. Trong quá trình dịch, cụ đã sửa lại nhiều lỗi sai mà tác giả mắc phải liên quan đến các sự kiện lịch sử.
- Mĩ và Việt nam đã từng là đồng minh trên mặt trận chống phát xít Nhật. Biệt đội "Con Nai" đã huấn luyện và cung cấp một số vũ khí cho Quân đội Việt Nam thời kì mới thành lập, chuẩn bị cho Cách mạng Tháng 8. Những câu chuyện về Biệt đội Con Nai "The Dear Team" hay mối thân tình thú vị của Bác, Đại tướng với các thành viên trong OSS (tiền thân của CIA ngày nay) khiến mình suy nghĩ rằng liệu đó có phải là hột cơ hội đã bị bỏ lỡ từ cả hai phía không? Liệu nếu bức thư từ Bác được chính phủ Mỹ xem xét kĩ hơn thì bức tranh chiến tranh 30 năm có thay đổi?
- Trung Quốc THỰC SỰ đã viện trợ cho ta một khối lượng khổng lồ từ vũ khí đến nhân lực, thực phẩm. Nhưng họ chưa bao giờ muốn tốt cho ta. Năm 1946, Bác thà để Pháp quay lại miền Bắc còn hơn là lưu lại quân Tưởng "Các anh điên rồi sao, các anh có hiểu là không bằng lòng cho Pháp vào có nghĩa là để người Trung Hoa ở lại không? Các anh có hiểu lịch sử không? Lần trước người Trung Hoa đến đây, họ đã ở lại một nghìn năm. Lần này họ đến nữa, họ sẽ không bao giờ đi khỏi đây"
- Nhìn một cách tổng thể, cuộc chiến của chúng ta là sự kết hợp cả quân sự lẫn chính trị. Trong đó mục tiêu chính trị phải được đặt lên trên cả quân sự. Đây không phải là cuộc chiến kiểu cổ điển
- Những con người thời chiến! Họ thật sự rất phi thường!
* Dịch giả: Nguyễn Văn Sự. Không có gì để bàn về dịch thuật ở đây. Bên cạnh đó, cụ Sự còn là một người rất am hiểu về lịch sử. Trong quá trình dịch, cụ đã sửa lại nhiều lỗi sai mà tác giả mắc phải liên quan đến các sự kiện lịch sử.
June 16, 2025
Cuối cùng cũng có thời gian để đọc xong quyển này (thật ra là do đọc document tiếng Anh nhiều quá xong sợ sách luôn).
Quyển sách do một giáo sư sử học Mỹ viết về một con người vĩ đại của Việt Nam - đại tướng Võ Nguyên Giáp. Cuốn sách đã cho mình hiểu rõ hơn về tình hình lịch sử của Việt Nam từ giai đoạn kháng chiến chống Pháp đến khoảng thời gian sau độc lập. Mỗi giai đoạn lịch sử sẽ được chia thành các chương riêng để dễ theo dõi và tìm tài liệu đọc thêm nếu hứng thú. Phần dịch được dịch rất tốt, mọi người thật sự đọc và dịch, chỉnh sửa lại cả những lỗi sai về lịch sử mà tác giả đã đề cập.
Thật sự mình cũng đọc về lịch sử nhiều rồi nhưng mà quyển sách đã cung cấp cho mình khá nhiều chi tiết mới, những đoạn tài liệu, hội thoại mà khó tìm được trên internet. Những vấn đề về lính Mỹ huấn luyện cho quân ta trong thời gian chống Pháp (rồi sau đó lại viện trợ cho 3 que 🐧), quân đội Trung Quốc đã hỗ trợ cho quân ta về vũ khí như thế nào, đào tạo cán bộ cho ta rồi lại có chiến tranh biên giới 1979,... Những vấn đề đó đều được kể trong sách và về mặt lịch sử thì khá uy tín (do tìm hiểu từ nhiều nguồn và được chính bác Võ Nguyên Giáp kể lại).
Cho sách 4 sao vì mình cảm giác tác giả đã kể theo mindset bác Giáp vĩ đại từ những năm còn đi học, giọng văn không hay như Búp sen xanh dù cũng kể về những người vĩ đại trong thời gian ấy (chắc là do giọng văn dịch ra). Những chi tiết lịch sử mình mong được kể rõ ràng hơn như trận Thành cổ Quảng Trị, chiến dịch Hồ Chí Minh thì bị tác giả lướt qua (chắc là vì bác Giáp không trực tiếp chỉ huy) nên khá hụt hẫng.
Dù gì thì cũng là một cuốn sách khá hay về lịch sử nước nhà. Mọi người cũng nên đọc thử.
Quyển sách do một giáo sư sử học Mỹ viết về một con người vĩ đại của Việt Nam - đại tướng Võ Nguyên Giáp. Cuốn sách đã cho mình hiểu rõ hơn về tình hình lịch sử của Việt Nam từ giai đoạn kháng chiến chống Pháp đến khoảng thời gian sau độc lập. Mỗi giai đoạn lịch sử sẽ được chia thành các chương riêng để dễ theo dõi và tìm tài liệu đọc thêm nếu hứng thú. Phần dịch được dịch rất tốt, mọi người thật sự đọc và dịch, chỉnh sửa lại cả những lỗi sai về lịch sử mà tác giả đã đề cập.
Thật sự mình cũng đọc về lịch sử nhiều rồi nhưng mà quyển sách đã cung cấp cho mình khá nhiều chi tiết mới, những đoạn tài liệu, hội thoại mà khó tìm được trên internet. Những vấn đề về lính Mỹ huấn luyện cho quân ta trong thời gian chống Pháp (rồi sau đó lại viện trợ cho 3 que 🐧), quân đội Trung Quốc đã hỗ trợ cho quân ta về vũ khí như thế nào, đào tạo cán bộ cho ta rồi lại có chiến tranh biên giới 1979,... Những vấn đề đó đều được kể trong sách và về mặt lịch sử thì khá uy tín (do tìm hiểu từ nhiều nguồn và được chính bác Võ Nguyên Giáp kể lại).
Cho sách 4 sao vì mình cảm giác tác giả đã kể theo mindset bác Giáp vĩ đại từ những năm còn đi học, giọng văn không hay như Búp sen xanh dù cũng kể về những người vĩ đại trong thời gian ấy (chắc là do giọng văn dịch ra). Những chi tiết lịch sử mình mong được kể rõ ràng hơn như trận Thành cổ Quảng Trị, chiến dịch Hồ Chí Minh thì bị tác giả lướt qua (chắc là vì bác Giáp không trực tiếp chỉ huy) nên khá hụt hẫng.
Dù gì thì cũng là một cuốn sách khá hay về lịch sử nước nhà. Mọi người cũng nên đọc thử.
February 17, 2025
7.7/10
A good biography, even though the author is a little too naive and Amerikan-minded in his outlook. If you can put aside his belief in the fundamentally goodness of U.S. operations in Indochina, this is a thorough account of the life of one of the 20th century’s greatest generals.
The war machine that Vo Nguyen Giap built was incredible, a machine specifically geared toward bringing his nation freedom. During his World War 2 days in the mountains of Viet Bac, where Communists ingratiated themselves to isolated mountain tribes by learning their languages and providing them free farm labor, all the while on a near starvation diet and constantly contracting malaria. During the final major Viet Minh engagement with the French, where thousands of peasant laborers hauled heavy machinery and weapons across mountains and rivers in order to turn one strategic and heavily fortified French base into a charnel house. During war with the Americans, where the Vietnamese took countless, countless casualties, military and civilian, in order to grind to nothing the will of the most powerful military in world history. These were the achievements of and people under the direction of General Vo Nguyen Giap.
A good biography, even though the author is a little too naive and Amerikan-minded in his outlook. If you can put aside his belief in the fundamentally goodness of U.S. operations in Indochina, this is a thorough account of the life of one of the 20th century’s greatest generals.
The war machine that Vo Nguyen Giap built was incredible, a machine specifically geared toward bringing his nation freedom. During his World War 2 days in the mountains of Viet Bac, where Communists ingratiated themselves to isolated mountain tribes by learning their languages and providing them free farm labor, all the while on a near starvation diet and constantly contracting malaria. During the final major Viet Minh engagement with the French, where thousands of peasant laborers hauled heavy machinery and weapons across mountains and rivers in order to turn one strategic and heavily fortified French base into a charnel house. During war with the Americans, where the Vietnamese took countless, countless casualties, military and civilian, in order to grind to nothing the will of the most powerful military in world history. These were the achievements of and people under the direction of General Vo Nguyen Giap.
May 10, 2020
Cuốn sách phác họa những nét chính cuộc đời đại tướng Võ Nguyên Giáp, quá trình ông tham gia cách mạng, chiến đấu cho tự do, độc lập dân tộc. Nhiều tư liệu đã được nghiên cứu, chắt lọc để đưa ra bức tranh mô tả con người đại tướng.
Do tác giả là người nước ngoài, thời điểm thực hiện cuốn sách Việt Nam mới mở cửa, thêm vào đó là các chi tiết nội bộ không dễ nắm bắt, nên có cảm giác là nhiều ý tưởng, hành động được miêu tả trong cuốn sách này chưa hẳn xuất phát từ bản thân Đại tướng. Trong nhiều trường hợp ông là người đại diện cho một tập thể làm việc cùng nhau hướng đến sự nghiệp giải phỏng dân tộc. Một mặt khác, những nét tính cách, phẩm chất cá nhân là của riêng ông.
Do tác giả là người nước ngoài, thời điểm thực hiện cuốn sách Việt Nam mới mở cửa, thêm vào đó là các chi tiết nội bộ không dễ nắm bắt, nên có cảm giác là nhiều ý tưởng, hành động được miêu tả trong cuốn sách này chưa hẳn xuất phát từ bản thân Đại tướng. Trong nhiều trường hợp ông là người đại diện cho một tập thể làm việc cùng nhau hướng đến sự nghiệp giải phỏng dân tộc. Một mặt khác, những nét tính cách, phẩm chất cá nhân là của riêng ông.
August 16, 2020
Một cuốn sách viết về Đại tướng Võ Nguyên Giáp nhưng xuyên suốt người đọc sẽ đồng thời được chứng kiến những thăng trầm của dân tộc qua hai cuộc chiến tranh chống Pháp, Mỹ và chiến tranh chống Pol Pot Campuchia cũng như chiến tranh biên giới 1979.
Hình tượng Đại tướng qua cuốn sách là một con người dành cả cuộc đời mình cho sự nghiệp đấu tranh giành tự do cho dân tộc trên cả tình cảm cá nhân, tình cảm gia đình. Và tình yêu quê hương, đất nước, thấu hiểu nỗi khổ, nhọc nhằn của nhân dân mất nước được nung nấu từ thời ấu thơ qua những câu chuyện kể của mẹ ông, người mẹ không được học nhiều chữ nhưng có trí nhớ rất giỏi.
Hình tượng Đại tướng qua cuốn sách là một con người dành cả cuộc đời mình cho sự nghiệp đấu tranh giành tự do cho dân tộc trên cả tình cảm cá nhân, tình cảm gia đình. Và tình yêu quê hương, đất nước, thấu hiểu nỗi khổ, nhọc nhằn của nhân dân mất nước được nung nấu từ thời ấu thơ qua những câu chuyện kể của mẹ ông, người mẹ không được học nhiều chữ nhưng có trí nhớ rất giỏi.
June 9, 2017
Cuốn sách phác họa Đại tướng Võ Nguyên Giáp với hình tượng của 1 vị tướng vĩ đại đã giúp quân đội VN đánh bại 2 đế quốc mạnh nhất. Vì thế nhiều lúc cảm tưởng như việc hình tượng hóa hơi lớn mà thiếu đi những lời nhận xét hay phê bình thẳng thắn từ nhiều phía. Cuốn sách mang tính tường thuật lại sự kiện nhiều hơn là bình luận sự kiện dựa trên quan điểm của tác giả. Nhìn chung vẫn là 1 cuốn sách đáng đọc, rất nhiều chi tiết lịch sử quan trọng trong suốt thời kì kháng chiến được nhắc đến, tuy không thể đầy đủ nhưng nó cung cấp thêm những góc nhìn bổ ích
November 2, 2017
Quite an enigmatic individual. He started with nothing as a school teacher and built an army of citizens. Whether I agree with him or his tactics, is besides the point, Giap was without a doubt a great General that the Vietnamese people needed. He took on the French, the Americans, and the Chinese and beat them all!
May 2, 2021
Long book with smaller than usual font size which makes it somewhat of an arduous read. With that in mind, however, the book is definitely one I would recommend for Vietnam War history buffs or anyone who would have any slight interest in reading about one of the most underrated and underappreciated military strategists in our time.
May 30, 2024
Great to hear about the battles I've always read about from the other side's perspective, esp Dien Bien Phu. It was also really great to read about their logistics struggles and their logistics triumphs. Lastly. I thought it was really insightful to learn about the strategic divisions at the highest levels of their government.
November 12, 2017
As Currey writes in the end of the book Giap was not nice person, nor did he win all his battles, but the results he achieved rival anyone who even commandeered an army. Well researched and written.
March 25, 2024
Đọc cuốn này giúp mình hiểu rõ về các chiến thắng quan trọng trong lịch sử xủa Việt Nam. Nhưng chắc vì tác giả là người nước ngoài nên khi ns về các trận chiến thì mình không cảm nhận được sự hào hùng hay là đau khổ như khi đọc của các tác giả Việt Nam.
Tóm lại thì cuốn này đáng đọc.
Tóm lại thì cuốn này đáng đọc.
August 14, 2019
Sách về lịch sử nhìn chung đọc đều khá khó nhằn (và buồn ngủ), được cái đọc cuốn này biết thêm nhiều điều về vị đại tướng vĩ đại của dân tộc mà những điều trong sách giáo khoa Lịch sử đều không viết.
October 20, 2022
Finally, a book on Vietnam that includes the French, and the North.
June 6, 2023
A nasty man with talent. Well written and researched
October 17, 2023
This book is the picture of general Vo Nguyen Giap and 2 Vietnam war against France and America from an American's perspective
Worth reading for young Viet Nam people
Worth reading for young Viet Nam people
November 5, 2023
History is fascinating, but you can tell the British guy who wrote this is racist as hell.
November 23, 2025
Judging from the barest facts on his career, General Vo Nguyen Giap has a claim to being among history's most accomplished military leaders. I mean, what else can you call a guy who turned a peasant militia into an army that beat three of the P5 Security Council members in full-scale combat? His accomplishments have been minimized in Western sources, or ascribed to simply his logistical mastery; Currey argues that Giap was an impressive tactical and strategic leader as well.
It's clear from reading between the lines that Currey, an American military history professor and National Guard officer, is rather enamored of the Vietnamese general, and this sympathy may potentially prevent Currey from writing objectively on the subject of his biography. Nonetheless, the book appears extensively researched and lavishes particular attention on the early years of Giap's career, from being raised in the Vietnamese nationalist movement to leading the first elements of what would become the Viet Minh. A lengthy and exhaustive biography on one of history's great military leaders and a necessary counterpart to the dominance of Western perspectives on the First and Second Indochina Wars.
It's clear from reading between the lines that Currey, an American military history professor and National Guard officer, is rather enamored of the Vietnamese general, and this sympathy may potentially prevent Currey from writing objectively on the subject of his biography. Nonetheless, the book appears extensively researched and lavishes particular attention on the early years of Giap's career, from being raised in the Vietnamese nationalist movement to leading the first elements of what would become the Viet Minh. A lengthy and exhaustive biography on one of history's great military leaders and a necessary counterpart to the dominance of Western perspectives on the First and Second Indochina Wars.
March 6, 2014
Fascinating bio of a little known person. I've read quite a lot of history, politics, and fiction about Vietnam, but this one gave me new information and a better understanding of what happened there in the 30th century and why.
January 3, 2023
Một quyển sách hay, dễ đọc, dễ hiểu cho cái nhìn về người anh hùng dân tộc được cả dân tộc Việt Nam kính trọng. Tuy nhiên sách không đề cập chi tiết lắm vai trò của nhân vật giai đoạn sau 1975.
Cảm ơn tác giả.
Cảm ơn tác giả.
October 12, 2013
defeat the enemy with the power of his
Want to read
December 28, 2016I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14339888
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14339888
Read
March 4, 2011Truly worthy of being hailed as one of the greatest commanders of all time.
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