In the jaws of history /

Vietnam books abound histories of our involvement, first-person accounts of the hell of soldiering, etc. but this one presents a different perspective. Bui is Vietnamese, descended from a distinguished family of scholars, and was himself involved in the government of South Vietnam at the highest levels, including a stint from 1967 to 1972 as ambassador to the U.S. The travails of post-World War II Vietnam in securing national integrity is his topic, as Bui and coauthor Chanoff offer a conscientious, knowledgeable account of the internal matters, needs, and conflicts of a society that most Americans think of only as ``Nam,'' the seemingly bottomless pit into which so many of our boys were lost. Americans still ponder why we were in Vietnam, yet this volume serves as a reminder that there was a Vietnamese side to the tragic conflict. To be indexed. BH. 959.704'092 Bui, Diem / Vietnam History 20th century / Ambassadors Vietnam Biography [OCLC] 87-3417

Active in the Vietnamese nationalist movement, the nephew of Emperor Bao Dai's short-termed prime minister Tran Trong Kim, founder of the Saigon Post , and ultimately South Vietnam's ambassador to the United States, Bui Diem was both a participant in and observer of the post-World War II struggles of Vietnam. Though well written and at times illuminating, his perspective is seldom self-critical and often reveals how detached he was from the decision-making process. This may not be the most satisfying historical expose but it does serve to illustrate his central point: that when the Americans sent in troops they took over the war,exhibiting a blatant disregard of South Vietnamese interests (culminating in the forced acceptance of the Paris Accords). A useful addition to Vietnam collections. Kenneth W. Berg er, Duke Univ. Lib., Durham, N.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

An inside account of the three decades of struggle in Vietnam by Diem, who as a youth in North Vietnam had Vo Nguyen Giap as a history professor, but who nonetheless fled the North and later became South Vietnam's ambassador to the US. Coauthor Chanoff has previously given us books by pawns in the Vietnamese game. This time, we hear from one of the rooks. Diem was early against both Japanese and French imperialism in his native land, but he also learned that the major impetus against these powers was communist-inspired. He dreamed of a Vietnam ""neither colonized nor communized,"" and so was doomed to a life of remorse. History moved too fast for the equivocating Thieu, as a toothless peace treaty pushed South Vietnam closer to its destiny, and Diem, ""the marooned ambassador of a dying ally,"" could do nothing to force Thieu's hand. In this extremely well-written, gripping volume, Diem sets a few facts straight. The CIA's man in Saigon, Frank Snepp, had reported that in the dying days, when Diem had met with Thieu, the former had demanded the President's resignation. Diem denies this (at any rate, Thieu's dilatory nature, as documented here, would have militated against such a strong action). Having been accused, during the US presidential election of 1968, of favoring the Nixon camp with details of the ongoing Paris peace talks, Diem outlines the whole scenario and again denies that his talks with Nixon were anything but exchanges of generalities. In the end, Diem finds as the greatest lesson of this period the fact that there is no such thing as a true friend among the great powers. Rather, there is only the national interest. He faults the US for going into South Vietnam with its sleeves rolled up, ready to save the country with no help from the natives. Had they asked, Diem suggests, the South might have been ready for ""Vietnamization"" several years earlier. Simply the best book so far on the diplomatic machinations of that tragic war. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.