"When Ho Chi Minh died in 1969 Time magazine wrote: "No national leader has stood so stubbornly or so long before the enemy's guns. " Ho was a man who understood how to compromise without losing sight of his goal, but he will perhaps be best remembered as the leader who attempted to humanize Marxism. And yet although the name of the first President of Vietnam is known throughout the world, the figure behind the Presidency has remained in the shadow; until now there has been very little biographical material available in this country. " --Page [2] of cover.