lukehunt

September 19, 2020

Reviewed in Magical Cambodia

Long before arriving in Cambodia, I was reading whatever I could find from the journalist Luke Hunt, the Southeast Asian Correspondent and author who has covered so many of the challenging issues and events in the area. Hailing from Australia, Hunt has been frequently living in Cambodia since 2000. He began his Khmer encounters in the early 1990s as a reporter in Saigon following the Khmer Rouge’s kidnapping and murder of three Western backpackers.

RTHK Podcast with Luke Hunt

On Hong Kong Heritage this weekend… As a student, longtime Hongkonger and Australian veteran journalist Luke Hunt first learned about Pham Xuan An, a South Vietnamese who spied for the Communist north during the Vietnam War. An worked as a journalist for Time and Reuters and through propaganda this spy for north Vietnam helped convince the Americans that it was time for their troops to go home. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, Pham Xuan An became disenchanted with the Communist government but continued to live in Vietnam until his death in 2006. He told Luke that he could write a book about his life, once he was dead. On Hong Kong Heritage this weekend, Luke tells me about his book Punji Trap, Pham Xuan An: The Spy Who Didn’t Love Us. Listen here.

December 21, 2018January 6, 2019

University of Madras

Senior lecturer Leo Fernando from the University of Madras with author Luke Hunt and senior journalist Deepa Alexander of The Hindu during a recent a recent lecture series in Chennai.

November 8, 2018November 8, 2018

Paddington, N.S.W.

Lawrence Deushane, retired American living in Sydney. Lawrence is a former US paratrooper, black ops specialist and merchant mariner from the Vietnam war era who spent the later part of his working life as a journalist and photographer in Australia.

October 25, 2018January 6, 2019

Sydney

SPY vs SPY — Pardoned in Cambodia of espionage Australian film maker James Ricketson with a copy of the Punji Trap in Sydney.

“A ripping good yarn (about real spy 😊) told by top notch journalist Luke Hunt. Contact Luke to buy a copy. Strongly recommended.”

‘Punji Trap is a cracking read that paints a vivid picture of colorful characters on a murky canvas.’ David Fox, former Reuters correspondent.

‘History and mystery melded together in a must read for students and scholars of modern Southeast Asia.’ Paul Ruffini, former editor Bangkok Post Sunday.

‘Mata Hari, Kim Philby… Luke Hunt’s magnificent Punji Trap adds the Vietnamese War’s most effective double agent, Phạm Xuân Ẩn, to the short list of master spies who changed the course of 20th century history.’ Dan Boylan, the Washington Times.

‘Absolutely riveting… a real page turner.’ Michael Hayes, co-founder and former publisher Phnom Penh Post.

‘Luke Hunt’s incisive portrayal of a fascinating character explores a murky underbelly of espionage in the Vietnam War. This painstakingly researched work is compelling and thought provoking.’ Lindsay Murdoch, South-East Asia correspondent, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.

‘It might also be true that this book – Hunt’s second – is an important study of 20th century foreign correspondence, something made possible by his own knowledge of the intricacies of reporting for wire services from the frontline.’ Shane Worrell, The Diplomat.

‘Luke Hunt’s Punji Trap is a remarkable study of Vietnamese journalist and spy Pham Xuan An who was to the Vietnam War what Kim Philby was to the Cold War. In this unsentimental account, Hunt shows how the American educated journalist who wrote for western audiences, shaped impressions about the war that in the end proved to be more important than the empirical facts on the ground.’ Prof. Peter Maguire author of Law and War, Facing Death in Cambodia, and Thai Stick.

‘Hunt is the journalist’s journalist. This book is a rollicking tale of history and intrigue. Economical and expansive. Hunt reports the truth of history under the guise of a cracking read.’ Ross Mueller, Freelance Writer and Playwright, Geelong Advertiser.

‘The West’s highest-rated reporter, and Hanoi’s greatest spy. Pham Xuan An at first glance seems like a walking contradiction. However, veteran Southeast Asia correspondent Luke Hunt shows the reader that An did have a code after all. On the heels of Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s epic film “The Vietnam War,” Hunt gives us an intriguing book to help fill in the gaps.’ Michael Philips, the Phnom Penh Post.

‘Highly respected and experienced journalist Luke Hunt, a front line reporter himself, tells a great story of deception and intrigue that occurred during the first major conflict to be covered by the modern media that shaped public opinion of the Vietnam conflict around the world.’ Alan Parkhouse, Asia Times.