William J. Duiker, author, Ho Chi Minh: A Life
After more than twenty-five years this book by biographer Charles Fenn and artist David Thomas is a result of the collaboration of these two men uniquely qualified to undertake this important project.
This book includes passages from a fictional “diary.” As far as we know, Ho never kept a prose diary. The purpose intended in this work of imaginative reconstruction is intended to evoke a sense of his personal engagement with the events of his time. The “diary” is based on historical documents but should not be taken literally. Although fictional, the “diary” is based on factual information found at the bottom of each page. Also included are passages from Prison Diary, a collection of poems written by Ho Chi Minh while he was in prison in China in 1942-43, as well as two stories told by Mr. Vu Ky and Mr. Dinh Duong Dinh, two of Ho’s closest friends, and poems by several of Vietnam’s leading poets.
This book contains 118 pages (59 text pages and 59 image pages) and is printed in a limited edition of one hundred with ten artist’s proofs. Each book is numbered and signed by C. David Thomas and Charles Fenn. The books are printed on Vietnamese Do (mulberry) paper hand made in Dong O Village in northern Vietnam. The text pages have been varnished to make the paper translucent. The images are printed from a Hewlett Packard DeskJet 970Cse using archival ink. The text is printed by letterpress in Monotype Bembo by Wolfe Editions in Portland, Maine. Each book is presented in a handmade lacquer box made by craftsmakers in the Hanoi area. The lacquer box is contained in a handmade silk slip cover also custom made in Vietnam.
For additional information please contact David Thomas, Indochina Arts Partnership, 20 Webster Court, Newton Centre, MA 02459, Tel. (617) 527-5670, Fax (617) 527-4394, e-mail cdavidthomas@yahoo.com
The current price of the book is $2,500 each and will only be guaranteed until June 2002.