VietNamNet Bridge – Larry Berman, a professor of political science at the University of California-Davis, has devoted his career to understanding the American War and sharing his knowledge with others. In May, Berman published A Perfect Spy about the double life of Pham Xuan An, a reporter for Time Magazine and Vietnamese secret agent.

The Vietnam News Agency’s Publishing House has bought the copyright permission to publish the book in Vietnamese. Berman talks with Culture Vulture about the spy during the author’s visit to Vietnam.

Why did you choose to dig into An’s life?

I think Pham Xuan An’s life is very interesting - he lived two lives at the same time! I also wanted to write the story as I thought it should be told.

Why did General Pham Xuan An choose you to write his story?

An had always said no to everybody; he didn’t want his story told, but then he changed his mind and agreed. I first met him in 2001, and it took him two years to trust me.

When he was sick and thought he had a very short time to live, he wanted his story written by an American because he had spent so much time there and wanted his story to be told there.

He thought that I was a fair American scholar and a friend of the Vietnamese, which was very important to him. He didn’t want someone to write the book who wouldn’t understand the war or the Vietnamese people or culture.

He had many close relationships with Americans, but he was a spy, so do you think those friendships were genuine?

He loves his American friends, but he loves Viet Nam more. His mission was to his country, but he believed that Vietnamese and Americans could be friends. My book is about reconciliation. An knew America before the war, and he felt that Americans could be good people.

Americans also think Vietnamese are good people because they like An. And I think his friendships are genuine because he has never betrayed or hurt any of his friends.

How have readers responded to your book?

The reaction of readers has been really positive almost everywhere. Most people think his life should be made into a Hollywood movie because it was extraordinary. It’s very popular, except for with one group of people.

There’s a small group of conservative people in the US who are still fighting the American War today. They criticised my book as being pro-communist, but I’m not afraid of those attacks.

They said that An should be held responsible for the killing of many Americans and Vietnamese. I reject that thinking; it’s foolish.

What inspired you the most when you were writing the book?

Most importantly, this is my fifth book on Viet Nam, and it’s the first that looks at the war through the eyes of a Vietnamese person. That was very inspiring and exciting for me. I learned to see the war differently, and An helped me to do that.

Secondly, An’s life is an inspiring story, full of choices and crossroads. And in my book I found a very important story: the choices that An had to make on whether to keep part of that life, to stay in America or to return home, to save the lives of American reporters.

According to you, what made An give you more information than any other biographer or reporter?

Because I’m the first person that An agreed to spend so much time talking to. I spent so much time with him that I learned more about him than anybody else.

You seem to be very interested in topics related to Vietnam, why is that?

Because so few Americans understand the topic. I know that the American War in Vietnam isn’t very well understood by many people in my country. Therefore, I decided to spend my life trying to understand the war, trying to explain it.

What lessons do you think can be drawn from An’s life?

I think the lessons from An’s life that can be drawn by any reader, American or Vietnamese, would be about loving one’s homeland and about friendship.

(Source: Viet Nam News)