Finding the dragon lady

This book is an illuminating biography of Madame Nhu (born Tran Le Xuan), the de facto First Lady of South Vietnam during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Known for her fierce authoritarianism and incendiary rhetoric, which earned her the nickname "the Dragon Lady," she was a highly controversial figure during the early years of the Vietnam War. The book interweaves the author's story of tracking down the reclusive Madame Nhu in exile with the dramatic tale of Nhu's volatile life, using unprecedented access to her unpublished memoirs and diaries. It explores her significant role in shaping the anti-Communist fervor of the Saigon regime and how her zealotry contributed to the regime's downfall and the escalation of America's involvement in the war.