Ho Chi Minh: A Biography Paperback – 25 Aug. 2011

It takes a Frenchman to write on Ho Chi MInh of course and how well it is done.As so many revolutionaries of the left in our time, that most extraordinary Minh had his mind well formed in Paris which he never stopped loving. The France he fought out of the humiliations known from growing up in colonized Indochina was a different matter.And never a dull moment in this well researched work on this unflinching tiny man constant as the Northern star unmoved by flattery.

Really well-written, informative book

Pierre Brocheux brushes in this fascinating book an in depth portrait of Uncle Ho, the aims of his political life, his philosophy, his policies, his tactics and his ultimate terrible isolation.Aims and policiesPolitically, Ho Chi Minh was intransigent on two points: the unity and the sovereignty of Vietnam. He was clearly first of all a nationalist, and in the second place a totally unorthodox communist. He created an autonomous Vietnamese communist Party, thereby exposing himself to insults by Stalin and his Komintern of being `a communist troglodyte'.For Uncle Ho, the national question was always linked to the social one. Liberating the country needed the unity and the mobilization of all patriotic forces including the peasants. This was a completely anti-Marxist position. Moreover, he called a one Party system good, `only if the Party is good'.PhilosophyFor Uncle Ho, all people should be free from the scorn and humiliation of colonialism.His communism was one of reform and collaboration between all the classes, not one of confrontation. His main goal was equality, because equality cancels poverty.His vision of the nation State had an ethical dimension, based on the doctrine of Mencius: a healthy childhood, education and mandatory work, severe condemnation of parasitism and rest for the elderly. But, he was also naïve and very idealistic: after the revolution we will all `love each other'.TacticsHis major tactic was buying time: gradual negotiations in face-to-face encounters, in direct dialogue without Marxist jargon.But, when in fine he understood that de Gaulle would, at all costs, try to restore France's imperial power in order to support its international role, he took without hesitation the decision `All right, we will fight.'Dreams shatteredWhen the Vietnamese CP fell under the banner of the Chinese, it underwent a Maoist `rectification'. It installed an oppressive and violent regime, which degenerated in psychological terrorism and thought control. It organized public accusations and executions. All political, intellectual and artistic divergences were suppressed and economic development centralized in State planning.The land reform lead to massacres and undermined village solidarity. But, after a few years the newly installed small peasants were forced to integrate their property in collective farms.Sidelined and isolatedWhen the cynical apparatchiks and their Chinese friends grabbed all power in the Vietnamese PC, Uncle Ho was sidelined, isolated and used as a symbol, a toy in their hands. Even his correspondence was thoroughly controlled. After thirty years, his wife tried to contact him, but even her letters were shredded. Uncle Ho had to forget all what happened in the past.Ho Chi Minh showed the world `what individual action is capable of' (Bertrand Russell).He made his country free from all colonial powers, only to have dinner with `his' Politburo in an embarrassing silence. As Pierre Brocheux stated in his motto, Uncle Ho was an idealist for whom history turned into personal disappointment.Pierre Brocheux' magnificent work should be an example for all biographers. A must read.

This book gave me much greater insight into Ho's life and the horrendous struggle for a free Vietnam (is it free now?).The writer gave a respectful account of Ho's life, though he did not seem very fond of him. Pity, as Ho gave his entire life to the cause. The way he embraced every allies philosophy, Russia or China and to flee from a purge, just to use them for Vietnam's independence, is the most selfless action I have seen in a freedom fighter. Even so, I would like to have been told more about Ho's character.