Books on Vietnam and China

[Andropov]

I am looking for some good literature from a Marxist-Leninist perspective on the PRC and Vietnam.
Ones which come from a historical perspective and deal with Mao and Ho Chi Minh.
Any suggestions?

[Generalist]

I read some of Mao's writings. The guy is prolific. Remember, he was a librarian and an intellectual, and had read most of the classics of China and the west. I am sure there are good histories of PRC but if you want to jump in to the thoughts and deeds of the big guy, the Great Helmsman, why not follow him. I haven't read much on Vietnam but Victory At Any Cost: The Genius of Vietnam's Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap was a great book. He is one of the main heroes of the Vietnam war. The guy built a crack army and defeated two major world power, France and US.

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

Good read from the (very) Pro-Albania Anti-Revisionist Bill Bland on China:
http://ml-review.ca/aml/China/historymaotable.html

Also, Part 2 of Hoxha's Imperialism and Revolution is good.
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hoxha/works/imp_rev/toc.htm

Both are from the anti-Mao perspective though.

[Teacher]

Is there a specific topic you're interested in or just general histories? There are tons of books about China that are sympathetic to the communists, not sure how many of them are written from an explicitly ML perspective though (aside from the obvious things like works by Mao and Hoxha).

[Ismail]

An Outline History of the Viet Nam Worker's Party, from 1976 (although there are earlier editions out there.)

One analysis from a critical perspective: http://ml-review.ca/aml/China/ALLIANCE27HOCHIMINH.htm

[skitty]

Some time ago I read a book called The Sacred Willow(ISBN-10 0195137876). It was written by a Vietnamese lady who married an American during the US involvement there; and covers the history of her family going back several generations. If I recall, they were mandarin class and knew many influential people. During the war they were scattered and ended up on both sides. The book was loaned to me by a friend, also Vietnamese(her parents were murdered by the Viet Minh)-otherwise I wouldn't have read it. Glad I did!

[Andropov]

Thanks for all that.
With regards to Vietnam I think that book "An Outline History of the Viet Nam Worker's Party" looks interesting.
As regards China, firstly a book encompassing the classical period in China, from the imperial dynasties until the modern day. Not necessarily from a Marxist perspective, just a good historical account from an historian that knows his stuff.
Also then a book on the PRC from a Marxist perspective from the foundation of the Chinese Communist Party through to the foundation of the PRC and its development until this day. Obviously a massive area and I wouldn't expect one book to cover all that but even if any posters here had a few suggestions of some good material.

[islandmilitia]

Thanks for all that.
With regards to Vietnam I think that book "An Outline History of the Viet Nam Worker's Party" looks interesting.
As regards China, firstly a book encompassing the classical period in China, from the imperial dynasties until the modern day. Not necessarily from a Marxist perspective, just a good historical account from an historian that knows his stuff.
Also then a book on the PRC from a Marxist perspective from the foundation of the Chinese Communist Party through to the foundation of the PRC and its development until this day. Obviously a massive area and I wouldn't expect one book to cover all that but even if any posters here had a few suggestions of some good material.

On the history of the CPC, the best single account of the early history of the CPC is The Tragedy Of The Chinese Revolution by Harold Isaacs. Isaacs was a Trotskyist who lived in China, and the book is concerned with the role of the Comintern during the first united front period (especially the poor advice given by the Comintern and the way that advice did not recognize the serious opportunities for revolution that existed in China during the early and mid-1920s) and then with the efforts of the CPC to develop their first rural base areas after the breakdown of the first united front and the expulsion of CPC activists from the cities. Other than that, the work of Arif Dirlik is very important for the founding of the CPC and the broader history of left-wing radicalism in China, especially the history of Chinese Anarchism, Gregor Benton is the main historian for Chinese Trotskyism before and after 1949, and Maurice Meisner is the author of the best broadly radical book on the history of the Mao period, including the Cultural Revolution and the period immediately after the death of Mao.

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

He asks for a Marxist-Leninist view, and you suggest a trotskyist?..

[islandmilitia]

He asks for a Marxist-Leninist view, and you suggest a trotskyist?..

The post I quoted asked for Marxist books, not specifically "Marxist-Leninist", on China. If for some reason the OP only wants to read books written by people who were friendly towards Stalin or towards Maoist China, then they could also do a lot better than the internet rants that have been cited so far in this thread, they could, for example, read the works of William Hinton, which are recognized even by non-radicals as some of the most important surveys of village life before and after the revolution, they could read the book of Maria Macciocchi, which was also based on first-hand experience of China. Those authors are a lot more enlightening than the confused ramblings of internet Stalinists.

[Crux]

I am looking for some good literature from a Marxist-Leninist perspective on the PRC and Vietnam.
Ones which come from a historical perspective and deal with Mao and Ho Chi Minh.
Any suggestions?
IN THE CROSSFIRE
Adventures of a Vietnamese Revolutionary

(http://www.bopsecrets.org/vietnam/chronology.htm)

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

The post I quoted asked for Marxist books, not specifically "Marxist-Leninist", on China. If for some reason the OP only wants to read books written by people who were friendly towards Stalin or towards Maoist China, then they could also do a lot better than the internet rants that have been cited so far in this thread, they could, for example, read the works of William Hinton, which are recognized even by non-radicals as some of the most important surveys of village life before and after the revolution, they could read the book of Maria Macciocchi, which was also based on first-hand experience of China. Those authors are a lot more enlightening than the confused ramblings of internet Stalinists.

First of all, that was the same person as the OP, but fair enough.
Second, Marxist-Leninist doesn't mean that they are pro-Mao. The majority of what was posted here was written by people who were more anti-Mao.

[Ismail]

then they could also do a lot better than the internet rants that have been cited so far in this threadWhat "internet rants"? Enver Hoxha's 1978 book? Bill Bland's 1997 work? Bland wasn't some "internet Stalinist" either, he became a communist in the 30's and was criticizing Mao as early as the 60's.

[Rusty Shackleford]

RED STAR OVER CHINA! (by Edgar Snow)




I am nearly finished with reading it and all i can say is it is INCREDIBLE.

[Ismail]

IN THE CROSSFIRE
Adventures of a Vietnamese Revolutionary

(http://www.bopsecrets.org/vietnam/chronology.htm)Great analysis, the history of Vietnamese communism and all that is progressive ends with the killing of Trotskyists. :rolleyes:

[Andropov]

Just to clarify the books dealing with the PRC and Vietnam etc from a M-L perspective, cheers.