American Larry Berman, author of a book on Vietnamese spy Pham Xuan An, spoke about the famous spy to students from the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) - American historian Larry Berman, author of a book on Vietnamese legendary spy Pham Xuan An, has spoke about the famous spy with students from the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH).
Speaking at the talk “Phạm Xuân Ẩn’s Dream for Vietnam” on November 17, Berman told tales of the intelligence agent’s life and his dream of peace and friendship between Vietnam and the US.
“An’s great dream is that war is over,” he said, adding that An had also helped heal relations between Vietnam and the US.
Berman’s book, Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent, was released in 2007.
Major General An (1927 – 2006), who was also known as X6, Tran Van Trung and Hai Trung, began to take part in revolutionary activities in the early 1950s and was inducted into the Communist party in 1953.
He was sent to study journalism in the US to create a cover to penetrate deeper into the government and military of the former Sai Gon administration.
After returning to Vietnam, An worked for Reuters, Time magazine and the New York Herald Tribune while providing intelligence to the Vietnamese army fighting against the US invasion of south Vietnam and the former Sai Gon administration.
After the war, he was awarded the title "Hero of the People’s Armed Forces" by the Vietnamese Government.
His life was featured in a 12-episode documentary produced by Vietnamese female director Le Phong Lan. The film was broadcast on HCM City Television (HTV) in 2006.
Berman is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California-Davis.
He has written several books on the Vietnam War, including Planning a Tragedy: The Americanization of the War in Viet Nam and Lyndon Johnson’s War: The Road to Stalemate in Viet Nam.
He visited Vietnam several times to write his book on Ẩn, and later returned to introduce his book and talk about the spy.
The talk at USSH, which was part of the school’s 60th anniversary celebration, attracted more than 200 students and lecturers.-VNA
VNA
