Phnom Penh Book Launch

The Punji Trap was officially launched on January 24, 2018, at Meta House in Phnom Penh with more than 100 people attending. Journalist and videographer Craig Skehan hosted the event and former Saigon Reuters bureau chief Jim Pringle gave a telling talk about the Tet Offensive, which erupted at the end of January, 1968, and turned the tide of public opinion against the Vietnam War.

Disclaimer

Author’s note: Blurbs and praise for the Punji Trap were written on behalf of the reviewer and not the publication they work for. It is common practice, and a courtesy, in publishing for a reviewer and the author to list who they work for. To do so should not be interpreted as an official endorsement from their publisher as that would require the incorporation of an official logo from the company making such an endorsement. The initial reaction from readers of the Punji Trap has been terrific, as such a second print run is anticipated soon with updated reviews for the cover.

PUNJI TRAP: The Spy Who Didn’t Love Us

Pham Xuan An was a Communist agent whose espionage adventures – under the cover story of a celebrated war correspondent in the Western media — were as brilliant for Hanoi as they were shattering for Washington during the tumultuous days of the Vietnam War. He has been dubbed “the perfect spy” and affectionately referred to by some as “the spy who loved us”. Not quite. Journalist and Southeast Asian specialist Luke Hunt prises this story open. He knew and interviewed An for many years, along with the many friends and colleagues in journalism who knew him best in war, on the journalistic beat and amid the collapse of South Vietnam.The Punji Trap has been distributed across Asia and in the United Kingdom by Talisman Publishing Pte Ltd. It is available in Australia through Imprimatur Books,  Dick Smith Books and at Fishpond in New Zealand. It can be purchased in paperback and  on Kindle  through Amazon, Select Books in Singapore, Asia Books in Thailand, Bokus in Scandinavia and at Kinokuniya Books in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia. First editions are also available through Pay Pal and in specialty book shops, including the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Hong Kong, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Thailand and the Writer’s Club in Chiang Mai. In Cambodia, it can be found at Monument Books across the country, and at the Back Street Bar and Wang Dang Doodle in Phnom Penh, and at Villa Vedici in Kampot. 


“Hunt divulges in his book the very person who was instrumental in setting the stage for the greatest hijacking of a victory ever seen. Hunt makes it clear as to how the American people and leadership were taken for a ride that cost many more lives and the loss of South Vietnam,” Ronnie Monroe, Vietnam Veterans News.

Straight From The Printers

Photo: Jim Pringle, legendary correspondent and Reuters bureau chief in Saigon during the 1968 Tet Offensive, with the author (and a celebratory drink) on the day the Punji Trap is delivered from the printers. Image by Milly Pringle.