Untold stories about the "perfect spy" Pham Xuan An

Opening the conversation, Professor Pham Quang Minh (Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities) expressed his pleasure in welcoming Professor Larry Berman and reading his book "The Perfect Spy," which chronicles the life of the brilliant intelligence agent Pham Xuan An. The meeting provided faculty and students with interesting stories about Professor Larry Berman's encounter with General Pham Xuan An and the writing of this book.

“I am very happy to be back at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. And today, I would like to tell not only the story of Major General Pham Xuan An, but also the story of war and reconciliation. How could someone who was a spy for the North Vietnamese army during the war be an honored guest on a US military ship? The answer is a mystery, just like the name of General Pham Xuan An itself,” - Professor Larry Berman introduced the conversation.

Overview of the talk

According to Professor Larry Berman, the most interesting thing about General Pham Xuan An was the way he concealed himself under such a perfect cover. At that time, Pham Xuan An was a reporter for Time magazine operating in Saigon, but at the same time, he was a spy codenamed X6.

Professor Larry Berman first met Major General Pham Xuan An in 2000. Upon learning that Professor Berman was writing a book about the 1973 Paris Agreement negotiations, General An requested a private conversation. Thanks to his knowledge, General Pham Xuan An helped the professor complete his book, titled "No Peach, No Honor."

Professor Larry Berman Introducing the original book titled "Perfect Spy".It is currently a mandatory reading material in CIA spy training courses..

From then on, the desire to write a book about the life of Pham Xuan An spurred Professor Larry Berman. He proposed the idea to General An, but was refused. It wasn't until three years later, when General An was seriously ill and in very poor health, that he agreed to let Larry Berman write about his life. "I constantly traveled back and forth between the US and Vietnam for almost two months, making the most of the time to write the story," the professor shared.

Pham Xuan An's life as an intelligence agent was intertwined with things like invisible ink, secret bunkers, and packages of fermented pork rolls containing intelligence messages to be sent to base areas. "There was a dog that General An trained to guard him while receiving and sending messages for the organization, kept at a fixed tree. Later, he was promoted to Major General. Pham Xuan An was so skilled in intelligence work that General Vo Nguyen Giap once said: 'It seems we're already in the American meeting room'," the author adds.

Pham Xuan An's life was so fascinating that many people wanted to know his story. But he always refused whenever someone offered to write about him. "There was a journalist named Shine Coulor who once offered General An $500,000 just to write a memoir about his life. But General An refused," said Professor Larry Berman.

The author views this book as more about the life, journalistic career, and cover of Pham Xuan An than as a story about intelligence activities. The book is currently a mandatory reading in CIA spy training courses. "Lone Undercover Agent" is how the CIA referred to General An. They were always interested in understanding how these lone undercover agents could survive in such a dangerous environment.

At the end of the presentation, Professor Larry Berman took the time to answer questions from the delegates and students in attendance and signed books as a thank you to everyone who attended.