In the early autumn of 1962, David Marnin, a young Foreign Service officer, arrives in Saigon to be the Ambassador's aide. Though young and inexperienced, he brings to the job a keen intelligence and a rich sense of adventure. He soon becomes involved with one of the most beautiful Vietnamese women. Unforgettably depicted are scores of characters -- ambitious journalists, Saigon bargirls, diplomats, clandestine agents, a disenchanted general, a Catholic bishop, Buddhist monks, the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of ...
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In the early autumn of 1962, David Marnin, a young Foreign Service officer, arrives in Saigon to be the Ambassador's aide. Though young and inexperienced, he brings to the job a keen intelligence and a rich sense of adventure. He soon becomes involved with one of the most beautiful Vietnamese women. Unforgettably depicted are scores of characters -- ambitious journalists, Saigon bargirls, diplomats, clandestine agents, a disenchanted general, a Catholic bishop, Buddhist monks, the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and one truly unforgettable Southern belle. This important novel demonstrates brilliantly how and why the United States engineered the 1963 coup that overthrew the South Vietnamese government and resulted in the assassination of President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother. These actions irrevocably enmeshed us in a situation from which there was no turning back. They led to a full scale war that should never have been fought the way it was, a war that reshaped American, Asian, and world history.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in fine dust jacket. Signed by author. lightest of shelfwear to the jacket, inscribed by the author. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 440 p. Audience: General/trade. In the early autumn of 1962, David Marnin, a young Foreign Service officer, arrives in Saigon to be the Ambassador's aide. Though young and inexperienced, he brings to the job a keen intelligence and a rich sense of adventure. He soon becomes involved with one of the most beautiful Vietnamese women. Unforgettably depicted are scores of characters--ambitious journalists, Saigon bargirls, diplomats, clandestine agents, a disenchanted general, a Catholic bishop, Buddhist monks, the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and one truly unforgettable Southern belle. This important novel demonstrates brilliantly how and why the United States engineered the 1963 coup that overthrew the South Vietnamese government and resulted in the assassination of President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother. These actions irrevocably enmeshed us in a situation from which there was no turning back. They led to a full scale war that should never have been fought the way it was, a war that reshaped American, Asian, and world history.
