Phạm Xuân Ẩn
"Judith A. N. Henchy" <judithh@u.washington.edu>
date Mar 7, 2007 3:40 PM
subject [Vsg] Fw: Pham Xuan An
Dear VSG,
Please see request below. Please send responses to David Felsen at davidfelsen@gmail.com,
unless you think you have information that would be on interest to the entire list.
Thanks
Judith
I'm a documentary producer based in New York City. I'm trying to make a film on Pham Xuan An,
a reporter for Time Magazine and a spy for the North. Is there anyone in your network who
might know how to find photos of him?
Thanks,
David
"Quang X. Pham" <quang@qxpham.com>
date Mar 9, 2007 6:25 AM
subject RE: [Vsg] Fw: Pham Xuan An
Call Larry Berman. His book is forthcoming. A few years ago I phoned Stanley Karnow at his
house in Maryland for an interview. He thought I was Pham Xuan An the spy. An first came to
the U.S. fifty years ago to study ironically a few miles away from what is known today as
Little Saigon. I will be taking Larry to visit Nguoi Viet Daily’s editorial board during his
book tour stop in Orange County on May 9 (hopefully CSPAN Book TV will be there too) and will
post a link here in Vietnamese afterward. It’s going to be interesting to see how An’s South
Vietnamese press colleagues view his legacy. There are two links at the bottom of my email
with more background.
** A Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and
Vietnamese Communist Agent by Larry Berman (Harper Collins, May 1, 2007)
During the Vietnam War, Time reporter Pham Xuan An (attended Orange Coast College in the
1950s) befriended anyone who was anyone in Saigon, including American journalists such as
David Halberstam and Neil Sheehan, the CIA’s William Colby, and the legendary Colonel Edward
Lansdale – not to mention the most influential members of the South Vietnamese government and
army. None of them ever guessed that he was also providing strategic intelligence to Hanoi,
smuggling invisible ink messages to the jungle in egg rolls. His early reports were so
accurate that General Giap joked “we are now in the US war room.” For more than twenty years
An lived a dangerous lie and no one knew because he was so good at both his jobs.
http://www.nbplfoundation.org/lectures.htm
http://blogs.ocregister.com/ocworld/2006/09/the_spy_on_campus.html
Best regards,
Ngan Dinh <ngandinh@gmail.com>
date Mar 9, 2007 2:00 PM
subject Re: [Vsg] Fw: Pham Xuan An
This is a video clip I found interesting:
http://webccl.cnu.ac.kr/doc/nguoiduongthoiphamxuananmotnguoiyeunuoc.wmv
"Daniel C. Tsang" <dtsang@uci.edu>
date Mar 9, 2007 4:59 PM
subject [Vsg] Pham Xuan An
FYI, i already sent it to the filmmaker.
In the new Hanoi-based periodical promoting US-Vietnam relations, Tap
Chi Viet My, no. 14 (November/December 2006), there is an excerpt from a
French book on Pham Xuan Anand it includes a photo of the An with the
French author together, as well as another of An himself holding up his
US Military Assistance Command ID.
The article is: "Mot Nguoi Viet Nam: Tham Lang," pp. 18-20. Tap Chi
Viet My is reachable at: tapchivietmy@vnn.vn.
The book is:
*Un vietnamien bien tranquille: *L’extraordinaire histoire de l’espion
qui defia l’Amerique
* by Jean Claude Pomonti. *Sainte-Marguerite sur Mer, France: *Editions
des Equateurs, 2006. 192 pages. ISBN* 2849900346
16.90 Euros. Publisher is:
*Editions des Equateurs*
Chemin des Ruguets
76119 Sainte-Marguerite sur Mer
France
editionsdesequateurs@wanadoo.fr
URL:
http://www.equateurs.fr/livre.php?code=33
Hue-Tam Ho Tai <hhtai@fas.harvard.edu>
date Mar 9, 2007 5:47 PM
subject Re: [Vsg] Pham Xuan An
J.P. Pomonti is a journalist who was based in Vietnam in the 1960s and
1970s (and taught briefly at Marie Curie as a history substitute in
classe terminale, the equivalent of 12th grade). He is married to the
daughter of the governor of the National Bank of RVN. Pham Xuan An told
me in 1993 that he'd studied math with my father in 1944; he was
recruited into the Viet Minh the following year. It was weird hearing
stories about my older siblings from this man I'd never met before 1993.
Chung Nguyen <Chung.Nguyen@umb.edu>
date Mar 9, 2007 6:51 PM
subject RE: [Vsg] Pham Xuan An
I find the following column says a lot about the character of the man.
The tie-in with Iraq is interesting. As with VN, in the end, I think that
Greenway is right about that.
----------------
H.D.S. GREENWAY
My friend the spy
By H.D.S. Greenway | September 26, 2006
[http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/
2006/09/26/my_friend_the_spy/
<http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/
2006/09/26/my_friend_the_spy/>
"Maxner, Steve" <steve.maxner@ttu.edu>
date Apr 9, 2007 5:37 PM
subject RE: [Vsg] Pham Xuan An and Vietnam Center Conference Videos
Thanks, Mark. Re: the conference videos: We have not yet digitized them but hope to within
the month. When they are available, I will send an update to the group indicating as much.
Best regards,
Stephen Maxner, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
The Vietnam Center
Lien-Hang Nguyen <lnguy2@email.uky.edu>
date Apr 5, 2007 3:52 AM
subject [Vsg] Pham Xuan An
Dear VSGers:
Over the past year there have been several discussions about Pham Xuan An. Larry Berman's
"Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan A, Time Magazine Reporter & Vietnamese
Communist Agent" is being published on April 24 by Smithsonian Books/Harper Collins. I’ve
read several early drafts of the book as well as the final galley copy and can say that it
will not disappoint. Not only did Larry have amazing access to An and did an impressive
amount of primary source research for this book, “Perfect Spy” is extremely well-written and
is a very interesting read.
There's also a web site for the book at http://www.larrybermanperfectspy.com/
Larry's book launch is co-sponsored by the Asia Society and the Southeast Asia Studies
program at SAIS in DC on April 24; he is then speaking at Berkeley's Center for Southeast
Asia Studies on April 30 and UC Riverside's SEATRiP on May 9. I hope VSGers will have a
chance to attend these or maybe invite Larry to your campus program. All contact information
and details are on the web page.
Yours,
Hang
Edward Miller <Edward.G.Miller@dartmouth.edu>
date Apr 5, 2007 8:29 AM
subject RE: [Vsg] Pham Xuan An
Let me second Hang’s recommendation of Larry’s forthcoming book, and also point out that the
website has a great deal of content about An that may be of particular interest to VSGers.
In addition to being able to preview the prologue of the book, you can also watch several
videos clips, including some from recent Vietnamese TV documentaries on An, as well as one
from An’s funeral last year. (Both the prologue and the videos are accessibly by clicking on
the “About the Book” tab.)
For me, one of the most interesting things about Larry’s book is how it intervenes in an
emerging debate over how to interpret An and his life and career. This debate involves
scholars, journalists and others, and it is taking place in Vietnam as well as in the United
States. (Perhaps also in France?) I am particularly intrigued by the ways in which An
himself participated in this debate--and indeed is still participating, insofar as many of
the narratives and interpretions that are now being produced are based on interviews granted
by An during the last years of his life. In my view, “Perfect Spy” is a major development in
this ongoing discussion, as well as a valuable contribution to Vietnam War scholarship in
general.
Ed
"Quang X. Pham" <quang@qxpham.com>
date Apr 5, 2007 8:20 AM
subject RE: [Vsg] Pham Xuan An
I am currently reading Berman’s book and concur with Lien Hang’s comments. He will be in
Orange County on May 9, 2007 at the best author venue here.
http://www.nbplfoundation.org/lectures.htm (Newport Beach Library Foundation). Crowds usually
exceed 100 so I hope C-SPAN Book TV will be there too. He will also visit with Nguoi Viet’s
editorial board as the local Vietnamese community will have much interest in his book. Pham
Xuan An first came to the United States 50 years and he studied at a community college in the
O.C., ironically not too far from Little Saigon.
One additional note. Dana Sachs’ new novel, “If You Lived Here” is also an excellent read.
I’m looking forward to her reading in L.A. tonight.
Best regards,
Quang X. Pham
"Marc J. Gilbert" <mgilbert@hpu.edu>
date Apr 9, 2007 4:31 PM
subject RE: [Vsg] Pham Xuan An
Larry Berman gave a presentation at the Vietnam Center's Lubbock conference the same weekend
as AAS that focused on Pham Xuan An's college eudcation in southern California. If any of you
have heard Larry speak, you would know that it was a very interesting presentation replete
with slides. It was videotaped on site and may already be available online via the Vietnam
Center website. As Lien-Hang Nguyen as written, there is no question that the book itself
will be a great success.
The Center's program went as usual. Keith Taylor did good work as an anchor and the usual
culture wars were refought, if with increasing politeness. Young scholars gave some excellent
papers with great verve and confidence, though older hands, left as well as right, noted in a
few instances an absence of humility, or rather respect for the fact that millions died or
lives were transformed as a result of the events they addressed. A veteran was upset enough
about the tone as to actually raise the hoary old addage that "you had to be there to
understand what you are talking aobut," which properly earned a very fine response from the
young scholar addressed, "We discuss the Civil War all the time and no one says we had to be
there." There was more to that exchange as the video will indicate, but indicates that
video's usefulness as a training film!
Roxanna Brown <roxanna57@hotmail.com>
date Apr 13, 2007 2:28 AM
subject RE: [Vsg] Pham Xuan An
I have a moment to share a small story about An. I spent three months in
Vietnam in early 1990 helping to compile a recommendation for Australian
funding for an appropriate archaeological project. We looked at the kiln
sites in northern Vietnam, for a site in the Hoi An vicinity where there
could maybe be an underwater archaeology training course, in the highlands
around Dalat where old burial sites were reported, and in the Mekong delta
for a possible Funan excavation. I did the Funan part alone while I stayed
mostly in Ho Chi Minh City for several weeks. During that time I spent most
evenings visiting An at his home, and then I was arrested. It was in a
general round-up because, as I learned later, they expected a Tianan Mien
Square type incident either on 30 April or perhaps Ho's birthday a couple
days later. I was questioned about looking for landing sites for the U.S.
Marines at DaNang, funneling money to the Montanyard (oh dear, now I can't
remember the spelling!), my activities during the war when I sometimes wrote
for Dispatches news agency, etc. I was innocent, and after about 10 days
questioning, they did let me go. During one part of the questioning they
made me explain my dealings with every Vietnamese I had talked to during the
past months. I couldn't imagine what I was arrested for, and thought it must
have something to do with someone I'd talked with. I thought maybe it was
An, because he'd warned me that he would have to report my visits to the
police, that he had to report all visitors. Although he was living at home
in a comfortable but certainly not luxurious home, he gave the general
impression that he was continuously suspect and under observation. Mostly we
talked about mutual acquaintances, about Santa Ana where once he had been
the only Vietnamese, becoming a Little Saigon area. The only subject that
was at all political was an evening when he showed me a manuscript (not by
him, and one of several he knew about) about the life of Ho Chi Minh he said
would never be published. It wouldn't be published, he said, because the
government had their official version of his life that didn't always fit his
real life, and they did not want an honest biography. Unfortunately the
interrogators had found a thick wad of name cards in my belongings, and they
made me go through them explaining every one. Finally we came to An's, and
they said "Who is this?" I was so surprised, I thought he was quite famous,
but perhaps that was not the case in 1990. I explained that he was a
journalist during the war who also worked for the Viet Cong, but they were
totally mystified. I stayed a few more days in Vietnam after my release but
did not dare visit any Vietnamese friends, so I didn't see him again.
Roxanna M. Brown, Director, Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum, Bangkok
University, Thailand.
"phuxuan700@gmail.com" <phuxuan700@gmail.com>
date Apr 13, 2007 7:42 PM
subject Re: [Vsg] Pham Xuan An
The manuscript you saw is possibly from the late History Professor Tran Quoc Vuong.
According to Professor Vuong, based on his research, Ho's background is quite different from
Hanoi's official line, i.e. Ho did not come from the Nguyen family.
I may still have copy of an online interview with Professor Vuong on this topic years ago.
Calvin
"DiGregorio, Michael" <M.DiGregorio@fordfound.org>
date Apr 14, 2007 4:27 AM
subject RE: [Vsg] Pham Xuan An
Many thanks to Roxanna for the story about Pham Xuan An.
Those of you who had talked to Vuong about his biography of Ho Chi Minh know that it started
with a birthdate. According to Vuong, his discussion with Ho's family members revealed that
he was actually one year older than his official biography. Vuong claimed that this change
in birthdate was orchestrated by Ho, who, being the product of traditional scholarship,
suspected that his enemies would be doing his astrological chart to determine tendencies and
characteristics in his life.
Mike DiGregorio
Hue-Tam Ho Tai <hhtai@fas.harvard.edu>
date Apr 14, 2007 7:38 AM
subject Re: [Vsg] Pham Xuan An
I think the ms referred to is Tran Quoc Vuong, "Noi Bat Hanh cua Nha Si Phu" which he wrote
while in the US in 1991 (?). In Hanoi, I have heard HCM referred to as being of the Ho
lineage.
Hue-Tam Ho Tai
Michele Thompson <thompsonc2@southernct.edu>
date Apr 17, 2007 1:09 PM
subject Re: [Vsg] Pham Xuan An
Dear All,
GS Vuong was indeed in the States for academic year 1990-91 and then
again for several months in 1997 I believe.
cheers
Michele