Cecil B. Currey

Cecil B. Currey, Ph.D., was a professor of American military history at the University of South Florida in Tampa and an ordained Protestant minister. He held a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas and later graduated from the Army’s Command and General Staff College. In 1965, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Nebraska National Guard and later served in the Florida National Guard. He was the founder of American Medical Help for Viet Nam, the biographer of Edward Lansdale, and the author of ten nonfiction history books, also writing under the pseudonym Cincinnatus. He was also a chaplain in the Air Force.

books Biblio. star Reviews

Bibliography

  • Standalone
    Victory at Any Cost: The Genius of Viet Nam’s Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap
    Cecil B. Currey
     

Reviews

Standalone

Victory at Any Cost: The Genius of Viet Nam’s Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap
"Currey.. has written an assiduously researched and engrossing biography."

The New York Times Book Review

"An absorbing biography of Vietnam's ranking soldier-statesman... Currey... makes a fine job of reconstructing Giap's early years as a teacher and the influences that set him on a revolutionary's path. An authoritative briefing on a great general."

Kirkus

"[One of] the two outstanding biographies of 1997."

The Sunday Times Books

"There is no other account of North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giaps life... as in-depth and honest as this work. Readers come away with a better understanding of not only what has occurred in Vietnam in the past 50 years, but why it happened."

Vietnam Magazine

"Victory at Any Cost is a complicated tale... Had we understood it all at the time, the outcome might have been quite different."

Marine Corps Gazette

"Currey.. has made excellent use of numerous interviews and extensive research... This is by far the most thoughtful and engaging [biography]. It weaves Giap's contributions into the wider fabric of Vietnamese history, and as such it merits a wide reading."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"Fascinating reading for scholar and general reader alike."

Infantry Magazine

"A telling biography about this heretofore enigmatic man is long overdue, and [Currey] has provided a study that sheds much light on the man who was victorious at the watershed battle of Dien Bien Phu."

Naval History Magazine

"An unparalleled account... of Vo Nguyen Giap's early life."

The Journal of Military History

"Fascinating... Cecil B. Currey has performed a great service by carefully researching and presenting this biography... The book conveys a different and very enlightening perspective of our involvement in Vietnam."

Airpower Journal

"When Giap chose Cecil Currey to be the recipient of limited but significant access to his life experiences and inner thoughts, he made the same successful leap of faith... Victory at Any Cost certainly belongs in all collections of military or twentieth century history and is a necessary addition to any library supporting courses on modern Vietnamese history and/or the American War in Viet Nam."

Journal of Third World Studies Book Review

"Currey. brings us closer to Giap than do most other scholars... The author's tightly written narrative covers many complex events economically and vividly but does not bog down in minutiae... Victory at Any Cost will be a standard work in years to come."

The Army History Book Review

"Admirably balanced and readable... a well-researched book which goes far beyond the confines of traditional military history."

The Sunday Telegraph Review