When President John F. Kennedy was buried on what he thought was a grand spot overlooking Washington, the reality of his presidency was lowered into the grave with him. A small army of historians attached to the Kennedy family, the Kennedy Library, and the Kennedy mystique produced something close to an Irish wake, where everyone says of the body, “He looks wonderful.” It took thirty years for the first sober judgment. Richard Reeves’s President Kennedy: Profile of Power in 1993 gave us a clear-eyed look at Kennedy the president. Reeves offers insight into every president’s struggle as they scramble for facts surrounding a crisis, which of course changes daily. Kennedy the man comes into view in An Unfinished Life by Robert Dallek. Dallek and Reeves were points on the compass for me. For 1963 in Saigon, two books provide a bedrock of insight: Ellen J. Hammer’s A Death in November and William Prochnau’s Once Upon a Distant War. For Kennedy thoughts, laughter, and keen awareness of the world he dealt with, I am indebted to thirty-two CDs produced by the staff of the John F. Kennedy Library. Often I had to replay many again and again to get just the right word. Clicking, tapping, kids shrieking, coughing—all made for difficult research. One day Kennedy seemed to be missing from a crucial meeting when, finally, I realized he had been there, his voice disguised by a bad cold. Sheldon M. Stern’s Averting “The Final Failure” was a big help in getting through the Cuban missile crisis. The staff of the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas, was very helpful, as were the men and women at the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas, and the Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I want to thank Roger Harrison for reading the early drafts of this book and making valuable suggestions. Two men who served America in peace and war provided fascinating insights into events in the Saigon embassy in 1963. I am indebted to and still miss the late John Michael Dunn, who served as top assistant to Ambassador Lodge on two tours in South Vietnam. The other was Rufus Phillips, who served in the Central Intelligence Agency. As do I, Dunn and Phillips look back on Kennedy’s overthrow of President Diem as a blunder that opened the door to a decade of jungle warfare for American troops. Colleagues Carl Pisano and John Hall generously read the manuscript. My daughter, Nora, also uncovered some key State Department testimony.