ALTHOUGH HO CHI MINH LACKED THE TIME IN CAPTIVITY OR EXILE WHICH ENABLED LENIN AND MAO TSE-TUNG TO PRODUCE EXTENSIVE POLITICAL WRITINGS, HO PRODUCED MANY PAMPHLETS AND WROTE NUMEROUS SPEECHES. SEVERAL OF HIS EARLY WORKS WERE PUBLISHED UNDER PSEUDONYMS, WITH ALL OF HIS WRITING AND HIS POLITICAL ACTIVITY INDICATING THE INFLUENCE OF GANDHI AS WELL AS THE MAJOR COMMUNIST THEORISTS. HO'S EARLY WRITINGS FROM THE 1920'S CONSIST OF ARTICLES PRINTED IN MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS ON THE TOPICS OF FRENCH DOMINATION OF INDOCHINA. HIS SPEECH TO THE 18TH CONGRESS OF THE FRENCH SOCIALIST PARTY CALLED FOR SOCIALIST ASSISTANCE TO THE OPPRESSED VIETNAMESE PEOPLE. LATER POLITICAL STATEMENTS BY HO REVEAL HIS PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO LENINISM AS A METHOD FOR THE LIBERATION OF THE WORKING PEOPLE; PATRIOTISM, NOT COMMUNIST THEORY, WAS THE MOTIVATING FORCE BEHIND HO'S FAITH IN LENIN'S PARTY. HO'S BRIEF, BUT GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS INDICATE THE CRUELTIES INFLICTED ON THE VIETNAMESE BY THE FRENCH AND ON BLACKS BY THE KU KLUX KLAN. MORE EXTENSIVE WRITINGS ON FRENCH COLONIZATION DETAIL THE TAXES IMPOSED ON THE VIETNAMESE, THE ADMINISTRATIVE FRAUDS PERPETRATED BY THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT, AND THE SYSTEMATIC VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS THROUGHOUT THE COLONIES. HO ALSO DESCRIBES THE SUCCESSES OF THE REVOLUTION AGAINST COLONIALISM AND AGAINST THE AMERICAN INTERVENTION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. EDITOR'S NOTES SUPPLEMENT EACH SECTION OF THE TEXT. (TWK)