_The Prison Diary_ is not a diary in the strict sense of the word but the collection does provide an intimate record of Ho's ordeal during the fourteen months he was held by the Kuomintang [1942-43]. Most of the poems describe Ho's experiences and observations in prison or in transit between prisons.

from the introduction by Steve Bradbury


President HO CHI MINH was arrested by the Chinese Nationalist authority in Guangxi province on 29 August 1942, when he was secrettly crossing the frontier. Since that day, he had had experiences as a prisoner till he was freed on 10 September 1943.