Ngo Dinh Diem, the 1st president of the Republic of Vietnam, possessed the Confucian "Mandate of Heaven", an ethical and political authority that was once well known via all Vietnamese. This religious Roman Catholic chief by no means misplaced this mandate within the eyes of his humans; fairly, he used to be taken down via an army coup subsidized through the U.S. govt, which led to his brutal murder.

The regularly held view runs opposite to the above statement by way of army historian Geoffrey Shaw. in keeping with many American historians, President Diem was once a corrupt chief whose tyrannical activities misplaced him the loyalty of his humans and the potential of an army victory over the North Vietnamese. The Kennedy management, they argue, needed to withdraw its help of Diem.

Based on his examine of unique assets, together with declassified records of the U.S. executive, Shaw chronicles the Kennedy administration's betrayal of this best friend, which proved to be not just an ethical failure but additionally a political catastrophe that led the United States right into a protracted and expensive battle. alongside the way in which, Shaw finds a President Diem very diversified from the despot portrayed by means of the click in the course of its assurance of Vietnam. From eyewitness bills of army, intelligence, and diplomatic resources, Shaw attracts the portrait of a guy with infrequent integrity, a patriot who strove to unfastened his nation from Western colonialism whereas conserving it from Communism.

"A candid account of the killing of Ngo Dinh Diem, the explanations for it, who used to be accountable, why it occurred, and the disastrous effects. fairly agonizing for american citizens who learn this basically acknowledged and tightly argued booklet is the truth that the ultimate Vietnam defeat was once not likely on conflict grounds, yet on political and ethical grounds. The Vietnam conflict don't need to were misplaced. Overwhelming proof helps it."
— From the Foreword by James V. Schall, S.J., Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University

"Did i locate a veritable Conradian 'Heart of Darkness'? sure, I did, however it used to be now not within the zone to which all renowned American assets have been pointing their accusatory arms; in different phrases, no longer in Saigon yet, sarcastically, in the division of country again in Washington, D.C., and inside President Kennedy's closest White condo advisory circle. The activities of those males resulted in Diem's homicide. And together with his dying, 9 and a part years of cautious paintings and partnership among the us and South Vietnam used to be undone." 
— Geoffrey Shaw, from the Preface