The book Cold War Mandarin Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of the American War in Vietnam 1950-1963, by Seth Jacobs is a comprehensive account of the rise and fall of the government of Ngo Dinh Diem in the South. Vietnam. In this story, Jacob focuses on the major events that took place in Vietnam and shows how America supported a leader who did nothing to strengthen his nation and led America into one of the worst wars of its history. The Diem regime was a corrupt and tyrannical government that used America's fears of communism to further its own goals, ultimately leading to its own demise. Jacob viewed the escalation of American involvement in Vietnam as follows: "The nine-year 'experiment' that ended with Diem's ​​death was America's crossover point between advice and support and active cobelligerence in a Vietnamese civil war” (8). The book is highly critical of the actions taken by the Americans and Diem during the creation of South Vietnam. As the title of the book suggests, the author claims that Diem and his actions led to America becoming stuck in a war that would last over a decade. Diem, who was not well known in either the United States or his own country when the book begins in the early 1950s, managed to perpetuate himself in a position of power by using both his faith and perpetuating widespread American fears. In the first chapter of his book, Jacobs returns to Diem's ​​rise to power. Diem first worked under the French where he was Minister of the Interior in the puppet government of Bao Dai. Where Diem hated the French who controlled Vietnam both economically and politically, one thing he hated even more was the Viet Minh. The Vi......middle of paper......Ngo Dinh Diem and his regime. In Diems' attempts to maintain a sense of national independence and ignore American advisors on how to run his nation placed him and America in a very bad situation. Jacob explained the reasons why Diem's ​​policies and decisions as head of state in Vietnam ultimately led to his demise, due to his totalitarian policies and misuse of American funding and support. Jacobs does not place all the blame on Diem but also points out that despite the information gathered from American officials in Vietnam, the American government supported an unpopular government full of corruption. Ultimately, Jacob reinforces his claim that the United States and its "Diem experiment" pushed America into a changing relationship with Vietnam that would ultimately lock the nation into a state commitment to which it could not return..