Introduction : toward a tragedy -- Counterinsurgency in South Vietnam : averting a quagmire -- Democracy at bay : Diem as mandarin -- Counteraction to counterinsurgency : the military solution -- Waging a secret war -- Subterfuge in the delta -- Strange seduction of Vietnam -- Decent veil of hypocrisy -- De-Americanizing the secret war -- From escalation to disengagement -- End of the tunnel? A comprehensive plan for South Vietnam -- Mandate from heaven? The Buddhist crisis and the demise of de-escalation -- Fire this time -- Road to a coup -- At the brink of a coup--again -- Toward a partial withdrawal -- President Kennedy's decision to withdraw -- Fall of the house of Ngo -- Conclusion : the tragedy of JFK.