War in Shangri-La : A Memoir of Civil War in Laos
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Sandwiched between US-supported Thailand and Communist North Vietnam, the tranquil Buddhist Kingdom of Laos--the original Shangri-La--became the center of a major Cold War crisis in the early sixties, when Mervyn Brown served there as deputy to the British Ambassador. He has written a fascinating and highly readable account of his often hazardous experiences, which included the battle of Vientiane passing through his garden and a grueling month as prisoner of left-wing Pathet Lao guerrillas in remote mountainous jungle inhabited by Stone Age aboriginal people. His story is set against a detailed account of the developing political and military crisis. It reveals the tensions that developed in the US between the newly elected President Kennedy, his Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and their advisors in the State Department, the CIA, and the Pentagon while a regional policy was formulated in the face of the perceived communist threat.
About the Author
Mervyn Brown joined the Foreign Service in 1949. Following posts as Ambassador and High Commissioner in a number of African countries, he was knighted in 1981.
War in Shangri-La: A Memoir of Civil War in Laos,Mervyn Brown,I.B.Tauris,1860647359,20th century,Asia - General,Biography,Brown, Mervyn,Diplomats,General,Great Britain,History,History - General History,History: World,Laos,Asian / Middle Eastern history: postwar, from c 1945 -,History / General,Warfare & Defence
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