Published in 1967, Vietnam: A Dragon Embattled is a two volume set written by Joseph Buttinger. Written during the rising crescendo of the Vietnam conflict, Buttinger lucidly describes the modern history of Vietnam from the colonial conquest of the French, to poor French management and overzealous French colonialists, the effects of World War 2, the resulting French return and the rise of the Vietmienh to Dien Bien Phu and the division of Vietnam at the Geneva conferences (due to US intransigence), finally leading to the US backing of the Vietnamese nationalist Diem until his dictatorial tendencies and rampant corruption brought about a military coupe that would lead to his ousting and murder. It is an amazing feat and Buttinger does an admirable job of fairly portraying all the different individuals, parties and policies involved – although he is quite harsh about French (and US) missteps that ruined the possibility of non-communist Vietnam. But he also levels appropriate criticism at the Vietnamese – pointing out Communist failures that led to useless suffering (collective farming issues that led to the only major north Vietnamese revolt against the communist government).
Buttinger, in 1967, clearly points out what could have been if better policies had been followed, if France had treated the Vietnamese nation with the respect and dignity it deserved, if the US had chose to back the Vietnamese nationalists instead of France, if the US would have forced Diem to make the essential and necessary political and social changes that were so desperately needed. It is fascinating and troubling to see the answers so readily apparent in 1967 and yet these answers were not followed (or possibly understood). It makes a tragic read to some extent.
In the end, “Vietnam: A Dragon Embattled” is an amazing, well-written social, political, and historical review of modern Vietnam (up to 1967 standards any way) and is amazingly prescient about the problems that would eventually turn Vietnam into a communist nation.