Is Madame Nhu's story relevant today, or is it just an interesting chapter in 20th-century history?

Do you think Madame Nhu’s story is relevant to Americans and Vietnamese today, or is it just an interesting chapter in 20th-century history?

I love history and the lessons it teaches us, but we have to be open to accept these lessons and learn from them. Because Vietnam isn't a major power and probably never will be, I doubt her story will ever be more than just an interesting sideline to the bigger picture of what a fiasco the whole Vietnam Experience became and how it impacted our own image of ourselves as well as the world's. Also, how it impacted our foreign policies in that part of the world.

Madame Nhu's story is relevant on a scale much larger than Vietnam. Her story is about human nature. With unending conflicts around the world, there will always be Madame Nhus and Diems and Nhus. People will step up and fill the leadership vacuums that occur when governments are in turmoil, and in many cases these "leaders" will be looking after their own self interest at the expense of a the greater good.

Ms. Demery's book would be a good case study in leadership classes and political science classes.

Well said jwbriggs13. I also think that sometime in the future her advances for the role of women in Vietnam will be more appreciated. She did make a difference.

I agree that Madame Nhu's story is relevant today because it is an illustration of the gap that exists between cloistered leaders and the general population. Her assumption of political power based on her relationship to the former ruling family was short-sighted and devastating.

Her story is relevant because the Vietnam War (called the American War in Vietnam) was a waste of human life. We did not stop the spread of communism, and our country used the fear of communism as the excuse to get involved.

I agree that her story is relevant. There will always be wars and conflicts and their will always be the power mad and corrupt who try to gain control. Men in power will always be corrupted by women, just read the headlines on any given day. Some things never change. What has changed worldwide is that women are having more opportunities to be leaders.

I don't necessarily agree that Madame Nhu corrupted anyone. I think she was self-centered and acted in her own best interests. I think Diem was directionless and Madame Nhu guided him in the direction of what she thought was right -- although her opinion of what was right was highly shaped by what was right for HER. And Nhu didn't need any help; he was corrupt from the get-go. So how is this relevant today? I think it's relevant in the context of how the US got into an unwinnable war, although I'm not sure we've actually learned much from history.

Revisiting the past is relevant you learn what not to do, or what to do. Her story as merit today, worldwide.

I think her story is interesting in terms of her influence over her husband's family and the government. I am not sure she is relevant today to Western open governments. The press has forced much transparency, so that a family member influencing the President or Prime Minister of a major power will be written about. With the rise of social media, there are fewer secrets and back room deals. In the Far East, the press is not as free and open, so there could be another Madame Nhu, perhaps in North Korea?

I think the truth about anybody can be relevant because it is part of history. Whether it will resonate with anyone is a different matter. The news media is so polarized today that it is hard to tell what the truth is. I've seen news stations literally have opposite interpretations of the same event. This polarization is leading to a retelling of a history, even in textbooks, depending on the point of view of the writers. That's why books like this are important. They do a better job of getting at the truth than the political writers do.

The depth of her depression over her unhappy marriage was at absolute odds with the self confident image she had always presented to the world. Her emotional needs were unfulfilled until she found a place in politics. History forced her to to battle with empires, history placed her in the heart of the story into which she had been cast and no one would ever forget her. In the end though she states in her diary I can no longer be more, I will no longer be more.