Recreating the life of General Vo Nguyen Giap through precious book pages

Three valuable books about General Vo Nguyen Giap clearly depict the portrait, life and career of the General associated with important historical milestones.

Tre Publishing House republishes three valuable books about General Vo Nguyen Giap including: "Vo Nguyen Giap - The years of his life", "Not a legend", "Vo Nguyen Giap - Hundred-year heroic spirit".

Three valuable documents help readers have a clearer view of the General's life from when he was an enthusiastic student at the National School in Hue to a history teacher, a decisive general, and a peacetime politician with a far-sighted vision in the fields of science and technology, education, and protection of the sea and islands. Or understand more about the General from the perspective of a complete literary character, with the concerns and responsibilities of a person chosen by history.

1. With the book "Vo Nguyen Giap - The Years of Life", 103 major events have been selected, briefly but clearly depicting 103 years of the General's life (calculated according to lunar age).

The book has been compiled by Tre Publishing House, with comments from the General's family. The book uses a visual approach with short, concise content and many illustrated images and maps, making it easy to read, understand and remember. For example, the Dien Bien Phu battle is only summarized in 4 events, and the battle's progress, including images and diagrams, is only summarized in 3 pages.

Compared to the thousands of pages of in-depth research works about the General, “Vo Nguyen Giap - The Years of His Life” is a very different book: just over 100 pages, with concise, modern words and many vivid images in a special horizontal format.

Skimming through the titles, readers can easily see a fast and engaging rhythm: A handbook for defeating "flying fortresses"; What is the probability that the US will give up?; Dien Bien Phu in the air; One-two punch; Acupressure attack; Liberating Truong Sa; Secret telegram...

Not only revolving around the stories of the general, interspersed throughout the pages are brief pieces of information about related events and characters to remind readers and help them visualize more clearly the historical context of that day.

With a concise and vivid presentation, the book is the answer for those who want to know: "What did the General do at that age, and how, in what context?". The book especially comes with a gift of 2 portraits of the General in everyday life taken by photographer Duy Anh.

2. Readers have known the image of the General Commander-in-Chief through historical documents, memoirs and documentary films. However, it was not until “Not a Legend” that his portrait emerged as a complete literary character, with the concerns and responsibilities of a man chosen by history. This is also the first historical novel about General Vo Nguyen Giap in the context of the resistance war against the French and the climax of the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign.

With his special relationship, writer Huu Mai has made a journey on paper to find out what is the extraordinary aspect of a person in his relationship with everyone, the influences on life and the situation of war, what is the true aspect of the extraordinary features of historical stature.

The question of why Vietnam won the battle of Dien Bien Phu has finally been answered, but what makes “Not a Legend” go beyond the framework of a normal chronicle is that it also depicts the harsh side of war. Fierce in the trenches, fierce in the command bunkers and uncompromising at the international conference table.

The fate of a political trend falls at decisive moments, and the military leader must satisfy the dual answer: the right plan and the right time. What are the thoughts behind the glorious victory? Writer Huu Mai found a powerful answer through the image of General Vo Nguyen Giap, who was recognized by CNN as "one of the most important figures in the early history of communist Vietnam".

Author Huu Mai wrote this book in response to an invitation to participate in a writing campaign on the topic of revolutionary war and the people's armed forces. He was the bridge and witnessed the meeting between John Kennedy (son of the late US President Kennedy) and General Vo Nguyen Giap.

During that meeting, John Kennedy asked the question: “Why did the Vietnamese people win when the enemy was at its strongest?”. It was the author Huu Mai’s turn to ask himself: Why did most foreign books written about the Vietnam War and about General Vo Nguyen Giap not mention a basic question: Why did the Vietnamese people win?

This book, according to him, "hopes to clarify, supplement, and concretize the reality of the war, and perhaps bring something useful to the issues that readers are interested in."

In addition to the extremely engaging narrative, the book's unique feature lies in the meticulous research and citation of documents from many diverse sources, making the book itself an important reference source for those who want to learn about the history of this period.

3. With “Vo Nguyen Giap - Hundred-year Heroic Spirit”, the publication contributes to clearly portraying the portrait of General Vo Nguyen Giap - a special historical figure who was both a literary and martial artist and accompanied the history of modern Vietnam.

Compiled in chronological form, through 101 topics with vivid illustrations, the book also provides readers with interesting information about the life of General Vo Nguyen Giap.

Why was he able to do so many things in the limited time of his life? Why did what he did prove to be the most correct in the infinite number of options? Pulling in artillery and pulling out artillery, sometimes fighting steadily and advancing steadily, sometimes speeding up, even faster, then building a knowledge-based economy as the key, while focusing on the sea and island economy...

The arduous and tireless journey of 80 years of revolutionary activities in the life of General Vo Nguyen Giap exuded the spirit of a vibrant era of the country, in which General Vo Nguyen Giap was a prominent figure.

Author Tran Thai Binh based on specific details, events, and people of history, through many literary techniques such as: narration, storytelling, quotation... providing readers with real images of the life, career, and personality of the General.

The three books are also a reminder to the younger generation of the General's last wish: "The generation of our fathers and brothers has washed away the shame of losing the country, I hope that the younger generation will also wash away the shame of poverty."