During the Vietnam War, I witnessed the meteoric rise and subsequent unprecedented fall of a democracy movement, a grassroots movement led by the Buddhist monks of Vietnam. Because my signal unit provided communication for CIA, AID, State Department and NSC folks, we signal troopers heard things discussed that did not track with the official news being reported in the press and through official communiqu’s. This discordance caused misgivings among many of us. These concerns never disappeared in my case. Over the years, as I stumbled upon more and more oh-by-the-way corrections of misinformation, I began to consider the need for this novel.
Bob Swartzel grew up in Iowa. He graduated from Drake University and holds an advanced degree in engineering and has worked in investment services. He now resides in South Carolina.