VietNamNet Bridge - Larry Berman, the author of the famous book on spy Pham Xuan An, has come to Vietnam to launch a new edition of the book and present the film-making rights to Vietnamese partners.

This morning, September 4, Larry Berman attended a press conference on the occasion of the launch of the “Perfect Spy X6 Fully New Updated Edition” in HCM City. He also granted the right to adapt the book into a 120-minute movie of the same name to First News - Tri Viet.

This is not the first time Larry Berman came to Vietnam. To write the famous book, it took him five years to find documents and 18 trips to Vietnam. The book was released the first time in Vietnam in 2007, entitled “Perfect Spy.” With the updated version, he came to Vietnam dozens of times more to get materials.

This new edition was launched to celebrate the birth and death of Pham Xuan An (12/9/1927 - 20/9/2006).

The first edition of the book was issued in 2007 by the Thong Tan Publishing House, translated by Nguyen Dai Phuong. At that time, the book quickly became one of the best-selling publications in the country.

 The cover of the English edition of the book on Pham Xuan An.

The new edition is translated by journalist Do Hung, published by First News, updated with new information. The Vietnamese version was published in Vietnam before being released in English in the U.S. and other countries around the world.

After six years, the book returns with the updated information revealed by Pham Xuan An to Larry Berman. With the promise of only publishing the information in stages after Pham Xuan An died, Larry Berman took six years to consider it.

Pham Xuan An was by far still a mysterious character, not only with Vietnamese but many international politicians and journalists, especially the American press.

Pham Xuan was involved in revolutionary activities since the early 1950s. He was admitted to the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1953 and tasked to work as a spy. In order to create a better face to penetrate deeper into the Saigon regime, in 1957 he was arranged to study journalism in the US. In 1959, Pham Xuan An returned home and worked for Reuters and then the Time magazine and the New York Herald Tribune of the US. He died in 2006.

T. Van