The defeat of South Vietnam was arguably America's worst foreign policy disaster of the 20th Century. Yet a complete understanding of the endgame, from the 27 January 1973 signing of the Paris Peace Accords to South Vietnam's surrender on 30 April 1975, has eluded us. This work addresses that deficit. It represents a culmination of exhaustive research in three distinct areas: primary source documents from American archives, North Vietnamese publications containing primary and secondary source material, and dozens of articles and numerous interviews with key South Vietnamese participants
"Drawn Swords showcases the rise and fall of South Vietnam. This book highlights the South Vietnamese effort to build and defend their country, while weaving in the policy decisions made in Washington and Hanoi that signifcantly influenced the course of the war. A huge historical gap exists in understanding the motivations and policies of the Saigon government, mainly due to old ideological blinders, misinformation, and outright lies. By providing the South Vietnamese story and perspectives, Drawn Swords sets the record straight and offers the first detailed overview of their successes and failures in the democratic experiment known as the Republic of Vietnam. Many books have aptly chronicled the presidency of Ngo Dinh Diem, but few scholars have delved deeply into the years following the coup. This has left a tremendous historical void. Thus, this publication explores the presidency of Nguyen Van Thieu, the American withdrawal, and the eventual fall of the Second Republic of Vietnam. Equally important, Drawn Swords provides fascinating new evidence on how the Diem coup was almost halted, the backroom maneuvering that allowed Thieu to run for the president over Nguyen Cao Ky, and the true story behind the infamous "Anna Chennault Affair," one that shows that Richard Nixon was not the instigator of a plot to win the 1968 election. Even more explosive, Drawn Swords provides the incredible details on the last, great, secret of the Vietnam War: a plot during the last days of the war by France, in conjunction with one of Hanoi's allies, to prevent North Vietnam from conquering Saigon. This previously unknown scheme, along with many other fascinating new insights, sheds fresh light on the tumultuous struggle called the Vietnam War"-- Provided by publisher
