{"product_id":"the-lost-mandate-of-heaven-the-american-betrayal-of-ngo-dinh-diem-president-of-vietnam-9781621646136","title":"The Lost Mandate of Heaven: The American Betrayal of Ngo Dinh Diem, President of Vietnam","description":"\u003cp\u003eNgo Dinh Diem, the first president of the Republic of Vietnam, possessed the Confucian \"Mandate of Heaven\", a moral and political authority that was widely recognized by all Vietnamese. This devout Roman Catholic leader never lost this mandate in the eyes of his people; rather, he was taken down by a military coup sponsored by the U.S. government, which resulted in his brutal murder.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe commonly held view runs contrary to the above assertion by military historian Geoffrey Shaw. According to many American historians, President Diem was a corrupt leader whose tyrannical actions lost him the loyalty of his people and the possibility of a military victory over the North Vietnamese. The Kennedy Administration, they argue, had to withdraw its support of Diem.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBased on his research of original sources, including declassified documents of the U.S. government, Shaw chronicles the Kennedy administration's betrayal of this ally, which proved to be not only a moral failure but also a political disaster that led America into a protracted and costly war. Along the way, Shaw reveals a President Diem very different from the despot portrayed by the press during its coverage of Vietnam. From eyewitness accounts of military, intelligence, and diplomatic sources, Shaw draws the portrait of a man with rare integrity, a patriot who strove to free his country from Western colonialism while protecting it from Communism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Ignatius Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/15\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781621646136\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 314\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.97lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.00d","brand":"Geoffrey D. T. Shaw","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42429317284021,"sku":"9781621646136","price":16.11,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_a5bbb970-ff34-4a73-8541-5f0d9aa22b23.jpg?v=1664894440","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-lost-mandate-of-heaven-the-american-betrayal-of-ngo-dinh-diem-president-of-vietnam-9781621646136","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}