Description
Book SynopsisArgues that American cultural conceptions of religion and race during the 1950s played a crucial role in framing an ideology through which U.S. policymakers understood their options in Vietnam.
Trade Review“Seth Jacobs makes a seminal contribution to the study of the origins of American involvement in Vietnam. Combining prodigious research in a rich variety of primary sources, a sophisticated conceptual framework that illuminates the intersection of high politics and popular culture, and an especially engaging writing style, Jacobs fundamentally recasts how we view this critical period in the history of the Vietnam wars and the Cold War.”—Mark Bradley, author of
Imagining Vietnam and America: The Making of Postcolonial Vietnam, 1919–1950“Seth Jacobs’s interesting and provocative argument adds a new interpretation to the massive literature on the United States and the path toward full deployment in Vietnam. Jacobs writes with a lively, punchy style that makes his work both entertaining and instructive.”—Michael Latham, author of
Modernization as Ideology: American Social Science and ‘Nation Building’ in the Kennedy EraTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1. "Colonialism, Communism, or Catholicism?": Mr. Diem Goes to Washington 25
2. "Our System Demands the Supreme Being": America's Third Great Awakening 60
3. "These People Aren't Complicated": America's "Asia" at Midcentury 88
4. "Christ Crucified in Indo-China": Tom Dooley and the North Vietnamese Refugees 127
5. "The Sects and the Gangs Mean to Get Rid of the Saint": "Lightning Joe" Collins and the Battle for Saigon 172
6. "This God-Fearing Anti-Communist": The Vietnam Lobby and the Selling of Ngo Dinh Diem 217
Conclusion 263
Notes 277
Bibliography 339
Index 367
