Tai, Hue-Tam Ho

Berkeley. 2010. April 2010. University of California Press. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Wrappers. 9780520262263. 216 pages. paperback. keywords: South Asian History Memoir Gender Studies. FROM THE PUBLISHER - This is the incredible story of Bao Luong, one of Vietnam's first woman freedom fighters, and the author's aunt. In 1920, when Bao Luong was just 18, she left her village home in South Vietnam to join the underground fight against French colonial rule. After traveling as a stowaway to Guannngzhou, China, where she trained in revolutionary work, Bao returned to Saigon only to get caught up in one of the most infamous political crimes of Vietnam's history -- the Barbier Street murder of 1927. The crime resulted in a sensational trial that captivated national attention and resulted in Bao's eight year imprisonment. Relying on family memoirs, press accounts, police interrogation records, and court transcripts, Hue-Tam Ho Tai pieces together a fascinating story of political intrigue and suspense. Many of the key figures in Bao's story eventually went on to national prominence, including Ton Duc Thang, VN's president in 1969. Bao's story provides a rare snapshot of early 20th-century Vietnam, as well as fascinating vignettes from her time incarcerated in a woman's prison, where she endured years of torture. inventory #37630 ISBN: 9780520262263.