This fascinating and engrossing book should be read by anyone with an interest in the Vietnam War, Southeast Asia and Australia's relations with the region.

It offers exciting behind-the-scenes insights into:

· The Vietnam War and its strategic importance to the region

· Ted Serong, the CIA and the Phoenix Program in Vietnam

· The Rise and Fall of Soeharto

· Bob Santamaria, the Pacific Institute and the Asia Pacific Community

· The growth of regional co-operation leading to ASEAN and APEC

· Democratisation and the Rise of Radical Islam

· And Much More

Follow Frank through the war zones of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, guerrilla-infested areas of Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines and the exotic capitals of the region.

"I was totally my own boss," says Frank. "Santamaria in effect handed me a bag full of money and said 'go and report'."

Ted Serong said hubristically: "I'll run the war, you run the politics, keep me informed, and build the regional Southeast Asian architecture."


Frank Mount covered the Vietnam War and Southeast Asia for forty years as a political correspondent. He was also a political activist and Executive Secretary of the Pacific Institute. He was later an intelligence analyst for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as he explains in the book. And later still, the Director of Austasia Consultants and Editor of Asia Pacific Report. He was educated at Parade College, Melbourne and the University of Melbourne graduating with honours in economics.