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Buddha's Child: My Fight to Save Vietnam
The history of the Vietnam War has rarely been told from the Vietnamese perspective-and never by a leader of that country. In Buddha's Child , Nguyen Cao Ky reveals the remarkable story of his tumultuous tenure as Premier of South Vietnam, and offers unprecedented insight into the war's beginning, escalation, and heartbreaking end.
A thirty-four year old pilot and Air Force commander, known for his fighter-pilot's moustache, flowing lavender scarf and his reputation as a ladies' man, Ky in 1965 agreed to lead South Vietnam after a series of coups had dangerously destabilized the nation. Ky's task was to unite a country riven by political, ethnic, and religious factions and undermined by corruption. With little experience in governing and none in international affairs, and while continuing to fly combat missions over Vietnam, Ky plunged into a war to save his homeland. He served as premier until 1967, continued to be active in the war after his resignation, and finally left Vietnam in 1975 during the fall of Saigon.
Buddha's Child offers Ky's perspective on the crucial events and memorable images of the Vietnam the coup against and execution of President Diem; the self-immolation by the Buddhist monk, and the radical Buddhists' attempt to topple Ky's government; the bloody and pivotal Tet Offensive; the shooting of a Vietcong prisoner, captured in one of the war's most notorious photographs; the Paris Peace talks that sold out South Vietnam; and the last, desperate days of Saigon. In frank language, Ky discusses his own successes and failures as a leader and dramatically relates the progress of the war as it unfolded on the ground and behind the scenes-including anecdotes about Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, William Westmoreland, Henry Cabot Lodge, William Colby, Henry Kissinger, and many others.
Buddha's Child is a revelatory, fascinating account of a nation at war by a most unusual man.
A thirty-four year old pilot and Air Force commander, known for his fighter-pilot's moustache, flowing lavender scarf and his reputation as a ladies' man, Ky in 1965 agreed to lead South Vietnam after a series of coups had dangerously destabilized the nation. Ky's task was to unite a country riven by political, ethnic, and religious factions and undermined by corruption. With little experience in governing and none in international affairs, and while continuing to fly combat missions over Vietnam, Ky plunged into a war to save his homeland. He served as premier until 1967, continued to be active in the war after his resignation, and finally left Vietnam in 1975 during the fall of Saigon.
Buddha's Child offers Ky's perspective on the crucial events and memorable images of the Vietnam the coup against and execution of President Diem; the self-immolation by the Buddhist monk, and the radical Buddhists' attempt to topple Ky's government; the bloody and pivotal Tet Offensive; the shooting of a Vietcong prisoner, captured in one of the war's most notorious photographs; the Paris Peace talks that sold out South Vietnam; and the last, desperate days of Saigon. In frank language, Ky discusses his own successes and failures as a leader and dramatically relates the progress of the war as it unfolded on the ground and behind the scenes-including anecdotes about Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, William Westmoreland, Henry Cabot Lodge, William Colby, Henry Kissinger, and many others.
Buddha's Child is a revelatory, fascinating account of a nation at war by a most unusual man.
- GenresHistory
372 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2002
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49 people want to read
About the author
Nguyễn Cao Kỳ
2 booksMajor General (Thiếu Tướng) Nguyễn Cao Kỳ was a career officer in the Republic of Viet Nam (South Vietnam) Air Force, which he joined in 1949 and eventually rose to command, until his retirement from active service in 1971. He was one of the many Vietnamese military officers who were involved in politics during the 1960s & 1970s, serving as Prime Minister from June 19, 1965 to October 31, 1967. After the elections held when the new constitution went into effect, he served as Vice President under President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, who was also a military officer. In 1971, Nguyễn Cao Kỳ resigned the Vice Presidency in order to run against Nguyễn Văn Thiệu in the upcoming election, but ultimately pulled out of the race along with all the other candidates when it became clear the elections would be rigged. On the morning of April 30, 1975, when Saigon fell to the communists, Nguyễn Cao Kỳ loaded his personal helicopter with Lieutenant General Ngô Quang Trưởng and several others, and flew out over the South China Sea in search of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, which was stationed just over the horizon off the Vietnamese coast as part of Operation Frequent Wind. After landing the aircraft on a U.S. Navy ship, he went to the U.S. as a refugee, ultimately settling in California. In 2004 Nguyễn Cao Kỳ became the first former political leader of the Republic of Viet Nam to return to his native country. In what was considered by many a controversial gesture, he called for reconciliation between Vietnamese of all political orientations, both inside Viet Nam and in the diaspora.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 12, 2018
The greatest leader South vietnam ever had, A giant surrounded by warlords and short sided fools
July 24, 2025
Nguyen Cao Ky was an Airforce Marshal turned Prime Minister/Vice President of South Vietnam. He was variously described as 'flamboyant, outspoken, gun-toting, womanizer, daredevil flyer' military man, whose favorite tactic is threatening to bomb people with his planes and or shooting people on the spot. This is certainly not a good reputation, and through this book, Ky sought to defend his reputation, and to describe the Vietnam War from his point of view as one of its most important actors. Being the only son in the family of daughters, he gained the moniker Buddha's Child, due to his mother praying to Buddha in order to be able to conceive a boy, and because of this, Ky claimed that he was blessed by Buddha (a very self-centered view, in my opinion), and his successes was guided by Buddha.
His early military career had him served in Vietnamese colonial force, where he first butted head with French military officers. After a short flying course in Texas, he joined the Vietnamese National Air Force, steadily climbing the military ladder. After Ngo Dinh Diem, South Vietnam's first President was toppled in CIA-sanctioned coup and murdered, South Vietnam spiraled into cycles of Military Coups, which is definitely not helping in fighting the communist neighbor North Vietnam and its Vietcong guerillas. This cycle was broken in 1965 when he served as a Military junta-sponsored Prime Minister. During his tenure, he faced one of the biggest uprising, The Buddhist Crisis of 1966, after which he managed to survive.
However, all was not meant to end well for Ky. According to him, His mouth spoke faster than he thinks, giving way for Nguyen van Thieu to presidency, who in turned successfully maneuvered to sideline Ky (and other presidential hopefuls) from participating in resulting 1967 Presidential Election. As Southern Vietnam fell to the Communists, the story shifted to how Ky escaped to America, where he sold liquors and tried his hands on Shrimp fishing, while being hounded by CIA and FBI, supposedly due to his reputation as dictator.
In the end, I find this book very interesting. I am always interested in learning South Vietnamese things. Although, I need to warn potential readers that since this book is an autobiography, take whatever Ky wrote with a grain of salt. His endless lambasting of Thieu warrants further cross-checking, an undoubtedly hard task to do since Thieu was a recluse during his exile days and did not write any biography. However, I found Ky's style refreshing and I am sincerely sorry that he was not able to save South Vietnam.
His early military career had him served in Vietnamese colonial force, where he first butted head with French military officers. After a short flying course in Texas, he joined the Vietnamese National Air Force, steadily climbing the military ladder. After Ngo Dinh Diem, South Vietnam's first President was toppled in CIA-sanctioned coup and murdered, South Vietnam spiraled into cycles of Military Coups, which is definitely not helping in fighting the communist neighbor North Vietnam and its Vietcong guerillas. This cycle was broken in 1965 when he served as a Military junta-sponsored Prime Minister. During his tenure, he faced one of the biggest uprising, The Buddhist Crisis of 1966, after which he managed to survive.
However, all was not meant to end well for Ky. According to him, His mouth spoke faster than he thinks, giving way for Nguyen van Thieu to presidency, who in turned successfully maneuvered to sideline Ky (and other presidential hopefuls) from participating in resulting 1967 Presidential Election. As Southern Vietnam fell to the Communists, the story shifted to how Ky escaped to America, where he sold liquors and tried his hands on Shrimp fishing, while being hounded by CIA and FBI, supposedly due to his reputation as dictator.
In the end, I find this book very interesting. I am always interested in learning South Vietnamese things. Although, I need to warn potential readers that since this book is an autobiography, take whatever Ky wrote with a grain of salt. His endless lambasting of Thieu warrants further cross-checking, an undoubtedly hard task to do since Thieu was a recluse during his exile days and did not write any biography. However, I found Ky's style refreshing and I am sincerely sorry that he was not able to save South Vietnam.
October 19, 2017
Marshal Ky authored this work late in his life. You would assume that some honest introspection of his service in the RVN would have taken place. However, as this work will make clear to the reader, Ky did not make his critics out to be liars. Arrogant, grandious and a self serving promotor with a penchant embellishment of supposed 'factual' incidents. For example, while playing golf with a group of Saudi royals, Marshal Ky claims he was asked his assessment of the Gulf of Sidra incident and takes full credit for predicting the outcome. Hard to believe. Why would a bunch of Saudi royals seek an analysis /opinion from a Vietnamese expat on American middle east policy? Such examples and more subject the reader to insults of basic intelligence by an egomaniac.
Ky's complicated life follows him into exile in the US. He recounts incidents with law enforcement, of course as the victim in every one. Again, with the same logic that subjects the reader to insults of intelligence.
However, there is hidden lessons in this book that shed light on the demise of the RVN. Ky was not unique in lack of leadership, but another ineffective leader among many that prevented the RVN to be a legitimate representative for all Vietnamese people. A succession of US administrations that backed such a consistently incompetent, criminal government with money, human lives is a well documented error in US foreign policy.
Ky's complicated life follows him into exile in the US. He recounts incidents with law enforcement, of course as the victim in every one. Again, with the same logic that subjects the reader to insults of intelligence.
However, there is hidden lessons in this book that shed light on the demise of the RVN. Ky was not unique in lack of leadership, but another ineffective leader among many that prevented the RVN to be a legitimate representative for all Vietnamese people. A succession of US administrations that backed such a consistently incompetent, criminal government with money, human lives is a well documented error in US foreign policy.
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July 15, 2019a good book.
January 12, 2008
Hmmm, hard to tell, I think it was a lot of excuse making and posturing, but it was an interesting point of view, from the one time president/vice president of the doomed Republic of South Vietnam.
October 3, 2021
A look inside South Vietnam's leadership
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews