Before it spread into a tragic war that defined a generation, the conflict in Vietnam smoldered as a guerrilla insurgency and a diplomatic nightmare. Into this volatile country stepped Frederick “Fritz” Nolting, the US ambassador, and his second-in-command, William “Bill” Trueheart, immortalized in David Halberstam’s landmark work The Best and the Brightest and accidental players in a pivotal juncture in modern US history. Diplomats at War is a personal memoir by former Washington Post reporter Charles Trueheart—Bill’s son and Nolting’s godson—who grew up amid the events that traumatized two families and an entire nation. The book embeds the reader at the US embassy and dissects the fateful rift between Nolting and Trueheart over their divergent assessments of the South Vietnamese regime under Ngo Dinh Diem, who would ultimately be assassinated in a coup backed by the United States. Charles Trueheart retells the story of the United States’ headlong plunge into war from an entirely new vantage point—that of a son piecing together how his father and godfather participated in, and were deeply damaged by, this historic flashpoint. Their critical rupture, which also destroyed their close friendship, served as a dramatic preface to the United States’ disastrous involvement in the Vietnam conflict. Wednesday February 26, 2025 – 6:00pm Presentation 
SECWAC Presents: Charles Trueheart on "Diplomats at War: Friendship and Betrayal at the Brink of the Vietnam Conflict"
Thursday, March 27, 2025 (5:30 PM - 7:00 PM)
(EDT)
Description
Who: Charles Trueheart, Former Washington Post Reporter and author, in conversation with journalist, author and Yale Law School lecturer Lincoln Caplan (http://www.lincolncaplan.com/).
When: Thursday March 27, 2025 – 5:30pm Reception | 6:00pm Presentation | 7:30pm Post-Presentation Dinner
Where: First Congregational Church of Old Lyme 
About the Speaker:Images
4 Lyme Street
Old Lyme,
06371
Networking Event
Seminar/Workshop/Webinar
Arts & Culture
Charles Trueheart has enjoyed a distinguished career as a journalist and nonprofit leader before penning Diplomats at War. He spent fifteen years as a correspondent for The Washington Post, covering a wide array of topics including major European political and cultural events, and interviewing literary giants like Graham Greene and John Updike. Trueheart also served as the director of the American Library in Paris for a decade, where he founded the American Library in Paris Book Award. His background includes roles such as the associate director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard and a counselor and speechwriter for the US ambassador to France. Throughout his career, Trueheart has contributed essays and book reviews to prominent publications like The Atlantic Monthly and The American Scholar.
First Congregational Church of Old Lyme
Thursday, March 27, 2025 (5:30 PM - 7:00 PM)
(EDT)
Categories
Powered By GrowthZone