"When Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces on April 30, 1975, the communist victory sent shockwaves around the world. Drawing on recently declassified documents and rare interviews with Ho Chí Minh's strategists and operatives, this book offers fresh perspective on his blueprint and the reasons behind both the French (1945-1954) and American (1959-1975) failures in Vietnam"-- Provided by publisher.

Introduction: Hãò Chi Minh's legacy -- Establishing the blueprint (1890-1945) -- Making of a revolutionary -- Hãò's female couriers -- The seeds of Hãò's revolutionary strategies -- The infant blueprint -- Evolution and application of the blueprint -- The August revolution (1945) -- Hãò's road to power -- The French war (1945-1954) -- Blueprint for revolution -- The water flows south -- The north: the westward march -- The secrets behind the battle of Dien Biên Phu -- The American Vietnam War (1954-1975) -- And so it begins again -- A divided country -- The Ho Chi Minh trail -- Tet: America's big decision -- The Phoenix program: targeting the VCI -- Total victory -- Epilogue: Eyes wide open -- Appendix I. Abbreviations and acronyms -- Appendix ii. Translation of Vietnamese terms.