Аукцион Bidspirit | Manuscript of the Book ”Vietnam

Manuscript of the Book ”Vietnam Diary” by Moshe Dayan – Passages that were not Printed in the Book / A Copy of the Book, Inscribed by Dayan - Manuscript of the book ”Yoman Vietnam” (Vietnam Diary) by Moshe Dayan – more than 150 leaves handwritten by him, including a draft of the first half of the book and additional leaves documenting events from dates that are not mentioned in the book (some of them were possibly written already in Vietnam). In 1966, as a member of an opposition party in the Israeli Knesset, Moshe Dayan accepted the offer of the editor of ”Ma'ariv” to travel to Vietnam, where the USA was involved in the war between the north and the south, and write his impressions in a series of articles. When he was in Vietnam, he accompanied the USA forces and kept a journal which was eventually published as a book, the ”Vietnam Diary”. The introduction to the first article of Moshe Dayan's series of articles for ”Ma'ariv”, published on October 14, 1966, describes his work: ”Lieutenant General Dayan prepared himself for the mission with the thoroughness of an officer going to battle. He first travelled to Paris, where he met with French generals… then he proceeded to London and met with British experts… and with Marshal Montgomery… finally, Lieutenant General Dayan arrived in the USA and met with the American Minister of Defense […] Lieutenant General Dayan wrote his diary in Vietnam on pieces of paper, by a kerosene lamp, at times at the front in the heart of the jungle, at times in a tent in the camp shortly after returning from an exhausting patrol; he wrote after taking part in the landing of helicopters in the battle zone… he wrote the content of his discussions with generals and soldiers; his impression of the interrogation of a Viet Cong prisoner; his impression of a visit to a refugee camp – close to 400 pages in five weeks. Many war correspondents are in Vietnam, among them ex-military men. However, it is doubtful whether we could find another correspondent of a higher military rank… therefore, Moshe Dayan's diary constitutes a unique document, not only for the Israeli reader, but also internationally” (Hebrew). Most of this manuscript is an initial draft of the first half of the book ”Vietnam Diary” (pp. 1-97 of the ”Dvir” edition, 1977) dealing with the period between July 4 to August 10, 1966. The draft was written on two different types of paper with different pens and differs slightly from the book (there are several textual variations. Several lines and short passages appearing in the manuscript were not printed in the book). Several leaves of the manuscript describe events that occurred in dates not mentioned in the book – some of them drafts of chapters not included in the book and some, possibly, original leaves written by Dayan in Vietnam: • A leaf describing the events of 3.7.1966 (The ”Vietnam Diary” begins one day later). • Seven leaves mostly describing the events of July 30, 1966. • Four leaves describing events from July 31 and August 1966, including Operation Hastings. These leaves differ from the other leaves of the manuscript. They are written across the page, on both sides (four pages per leaf), in a somewhat sloppy hand. In one of them Dayan wrote: ”I am writing while walking slowly – I hope it will be readable”. These leaves are numbered by hand (1-9 and 5-7. Possibly, they were part of a larger group of leaves). In the ”Vietnam Diary” there are no entries from July 30 to August 1, 1966. In the entry from August 2, Dayan writes: ”In the last few days I was in the field with the units as part of an operation […] while with these units (at the headquarters of the company), I took part in patrols with the subunits – platoons. I wrote – usually while walking – a single copy only. I sent my lists with John Schneider… who accompanied me. I hope my lists arrived safely in Israel… I will not attempt to rewrite this part”. Possibly, these four leaves are part of the aforementioned lists, which Dayan wrote in the battlefield with the American army. • Enclosed with the manuscript: ”Yoman Vietnam” (Vietnam Diary), by Moshe Dayan. Tel Aviv: Dvir, 1977. Inscribed by Moshe Dayan on the first page. The manuscript and the book are both placed in an elegant custom-made case, decorated with the flag of Israel on one side and with Dayan's trademark eye-patch on the other. A total of approx. 200 leaves. Approx. ten of the leaves are carbon copies. Approx. 28 cm. Good overall condition. Stains and creases to part of the leaves. Minor blemishes. Filing holes to margins of several leaves. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Moshe Dayan (1915-1981), born in Degania, a member of moshav Nahalal, a military leader, politician and Israeli public figure. His biography embodies extensive chapters of the history of the Jewish Yishuv,