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Cold War Mandarin: Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of America's War in Vietnam, 1950-1963
Author(s): Seth Jacobs (Author)
- Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (UK)
- Publication Date: 24 July 2006
- Language: English
- Print length: 220 pages
- ISBN-10: 0742544478
- ISBN-13: 9780742544475
Book Description
Drawing on recent scholarship and newly available primary sources, Cold War Mandarin explores how Diem became America’s bastion against a communist South Vietnam, and why the Kennedy and Eisenhower administrations kept his regime afloat. Finally, Jacobs examines the brilliantly organized public-relations campaign by Saigon’s Buddhists that persuaded Washington to collude in the overthrow—and assassination—of its longtime ally.
In this clear and succinct analysis, Jacobs details the Diem experiment, and makes it clear how America’s policy of sink or swim with Ngo Dinh Diem ultimately drew the country into the longest war in its history.
Editorial Reviews
Review
This story is well told and engagingly written. . . . Recommended.
Seth Jacobs”s Cold War Mandarin tells the astonishing and tragic tale of Ngo Dinh Diem”s failed leadership of South Vietnam. This fast-paced narrative puts readers in the midst of American policy makers” many miscalculations that set the United States on course for participation in a doomed war. — Robert D. Schulzinger, University of Colorado
Cold War Mandarin is a superb examination of the complicated relationship between Americans and their difficult ally Ngo Dinh Diem. Part tragedy, part farce, laden with blundering, cupidity, and pathos, the story is an object lesson in how not to conduct foreign policy. Jacobs tells the tale with wit and grace, sensitive to the parties involved but properly critical of their foolishness and arrogance. Cold War Mandarin is essential reading for students and teachers of the Vietnam War. — Andy Rotter, Colgate University
Cold War Mandarin is impressively researched, judicious, and reads like a novel. A natural for classroom use. — Frank Costigliola, University of Connecticut
A well-written, well-researched, and considered discussion of the failures of Diem’s regime. . . . Jacobs’s account is balanced, informative, and convincing. He outlines the negative effects of Diem’s regime without an overly critical view of his motives or capabilities as a public administrator. Jacobs’s work certainly sheds light on the international and U.S. political context of Cold War events, Diem’s personal and political background, his actions and administrative policy, and the collapse of his government. — Deborah Kidwell, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth
Cold War Mandarin provides a scholarly investigation of the reasons why the US support for Diem endured despite his poor leadership. Whereas other recent biographies…examine how we might interpret Diem and his actions, Seth Jacobs focuses on Diem”s relationship with US leadership. He pulls Vietnamese and American perceptions to the forefront to give rich insights into the dynamics of US support to Diem and the subsequent foundation it provided to the Vietnam War. I found Jacobs”s depth of analysis and rationale satisfying. His argument is well grounded in a mix of primary and reliable secondary sources…. In the end, I believe readers will find themselves agreeing with Jacobs”s conclusions and will recommend it as a starting point for anyone wishing to undertake an in-depth study of Vietnam.
