“William Rust in his three-volume history of the origins of the Second Indochinese War provides readers with a case history of which current policymakers should remain aware.The conflict in Vietnam has received considerable attention from scholars, but Rust makes a significant contribution by focusing his analysis upon the neighboring nations of Cambodia and Laos during the administrations of Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy...Rust writes in a clear fashion, and his chronology should be accessible to both scholars and interested general readers. While a journalist by profession, Rust follows the historian’s craft by relying upon a careful reading of primary documents and diplomatic communications available in the National Archives, Library of Congress, and Presidential Libraries.”

Each of William Rust’s three histories of US relations with Laos and Cambodia has been named to Choice magazine’s annual list of Outstanding Academic Titles. Selected by the editors of Choice, a publication of the American Library Association, this prestigious list reflects the best of the scholarly titles reviewed by the magazine.

CIA Report Reveals Deeper US Complicity in Diem Coup,

New Details about His Assassination

William J. Rust, April 30, 2018