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Decent Interval: An Insider's Account of Saigon's Indecent End Told by the CIA's Chief Strategy Analyst in Vietnam Paperback – Deluxe Edition, November 13, 2002

by Frank Snepp (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 142 ratings
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Widely regarded as a classic on the Vietnam War, Decent Interval provides a scathing critique of the CIA's role in and final departure from that conflict. Still the most detailed and respected account of America’s final days in Vietnam, the book was written at great risk and ultimately at great sacrifice by an author who believed in the CIA’s cause but was disillusioned by the agency’s treacherous withdrawal, leaving thousands of Vietnamese allies to the mercy of an angry enemy. A quarter-century later, it remains a riveting and powerful testament to one of the darkest episodes in American history.
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  1. Print length
    616 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University Press of Kansas
  4. Publication date
    November 13, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 2 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0700612130
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0700612130
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
142 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Geordie
5.0 out of 5 stars A damming embarrassment for the CIA
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2024
Verified Purchase
Superb writing and information. A “must read.” After reading the new foreword I at least now understand why the entire US intelligence community and up to the Supreme Court came down so heavily on this book and its author. Quite simply, this book is a damming embarrassment to the US Govt and especially the CIA. Two years after the end of the war this book told the world the emperor wasn’t wearing clothes, and for that matter, didn’t have any in their wardrobe either. And as history often repeats itself, I’m sure a similar book with similar stories will soon emerge from our withdrawal from Afghanistan. Plus ca change.
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Kimberley Schumacher
5.0 out of 5 stars As Clear As if You Were There
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2023
Verified Purchase
Incredibly well sourced, Frank Snepp’s “Decent Interval; An Insider’s Account of Saigon’s Indecent End Told by the CIA’s Chief Strategy Analyst in Vietnam,” reads like a conversation. It tells the behind-the-scenes- story of real people, real accounts, and real history. Although, “It does not intend to pretend to be a definitive history… it does offer at least one perspective from the Bull’s eye.” The quote is taken from the book’s introduction, but the writing does exactly that; it offers an authentic perspective.

In the read, one can clearly tell that Snepp intended to write the story by the notes he kept of his firsthand experiences. He also uses excerpts from a North Vietnamese General’s memoirs published in 1976. As if he anticipated the book may be cause for further study, the people, planning, and some places are indexed in the back. Earning a Master’s in Internal Affairs from Columbia College, working as copywriter for CBS News, and eight years in the CIA prepares and positions the author in a unique vantage for honestly and clearly recounting events.

Told in three parts; Homecoming, The Unraveling, and Collapse, the reader has time to absorb and reflect on what has happened, tease out the ideas against what one might know of the era, and set their mind to take in the next phase. Few can walk through the trenches of such a controversial time in history and come away to objectively tell the world what has occurred in the way Frank Snepp has in this text. Gripping. Bold. Insightful. Find a sense of what it was like to be there by reading “Decent Interval.”
5 people found this helpful
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JimC
4.0 out of 5 stars Well written painful reminder
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2015
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Having been in the area those final days, it was especially difficult to make it through this book, reliving the pain, horror and frustration but knowing now it was the right decision to leave.
3 people found this helpful
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Rufusfirefly
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2024
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Snepps book lays a war that he experienced out in detail. It’s a masterpiece and sad that he had to face the wrath of the agency later because of it.
One person found this helpful
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Thomas
5.0 out of 5 stars Decent Interval is a must read to know the facts about the final days of the Republic of Vietnam and those who really helped.
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2016
Verified Purchase
As a Vietnam Veteran and member of the intel community with the Air Force for four years, and later in the Army another 8, I discovered this book quite by accident and damn glad I did. I flew on intel combat sorties out of Tan Son Nhut Air Base on the north side of Saigon. I was in Saigon for 20 months and had a lot of familiarity with the city. I later went back to Saigon (later renamed Ho Chi Minh City to many other's and my chagrin) and lived there for six years. However, the narrative in Decent Interval is compelling. The bravery of so many who tried to help local Vietnamese who faithfully served the Americans in Vietnam, and their ultimate betrayal at not being helped to escape is offset by the typical deceit of the Communist North Vietnamese, aided by the Machiavellian machinations of another betrayer, Henry Kissinger, the cowardice of American presidents in not keeping to the word of the US to help if the going got tough, and the ultimate betrayal and ultimate cowardice of the American public who simply washed their hands of Southeast Asia, Vietnam in particular.

Snepp's 580 page hardback was a compelling read. Since I tried to get back to Saigon in mid-April 1975 to help family get out, I was stymied by the system and by the airlines in trying to get a ticket to Saigon during the last couple of fateful weeks. So reading Snepp's book gave me a deep insight into the ultimate chaos that ensued and the actors behind the stonewalling of the evacuation.

If you want an in-depth chronicle of the final couple of months of the Republic of Vietnam as told by the most credible source I have come across, then I highly recommend "Decent Interval." If you want a one-sided story of those who try to cover their asses during that period, then look to the PBS American Experience video that won't reveal the whole truth of what happened.
33 people found this helpful
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Bob Looney
5.0 out of 5 stars A unique and remarkable account of the fall of Vietnam in 1975 written by the CIA's chief strategic analyst.
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2012
Verified Purchase
This is an excellent factual account of the fall of Vietnam which occurred in 1975. The source is impeccable---Frank Snepp was the chief strategic analyst for the CIA during the last 3 years of the war. He had previously served in Vietnam for 2 years also with the CIA. I served in Vietnam in the Army during 1971 and 1972 and can corroborate many of the events described.

I also share the author's perspective on the factors that led to the downfall of South Vietnam and the conclusion that it was a question of when, not if. The war was, in essence, unwinnable in the manner that the United States was waging it. This book also brings to light the disgraceful manner in which we conducted our exit and the unconscionable way in which we abandoned the loyal Vietnamese who had served us so well.

It is a remarkable book which I highly recommend to all. In my opinion, it is an objective account of that period written from a unique perspective. It is must reading for anyone who wants to learn the truth of the last years of that war, how and why it ended in defeat, and our disgraceful departure.
12 people found this helpful
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Casper
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books written about Saigon in its last days of the war.
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2020
Verified Purchase
It was a delight to receive this book a couple of days earlier than it was scheduled. It's well timed too, April 29, 2020. Many memories. I still remember every moment on the streets of Saigon on this day 45 years ago. I have read this book before; about 40 years ago, when it first came out. It was a well-written book. I was fascinated with many secret details of decision making in which the author had access to. Now, 45 years after the war, many details are no longer secret; however, in my opinion, this is still one of the best, condensed books, written about those fateful days in Saigon.
11 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Nigel T
5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2023
Verified Purchase
Everyone should read this book. Whether pro or anti war, it demonstrates how “truth” can, and is often, presented in many ways. “My car is a Rolls Royce, but it’s 50 years old” or, “my car is 50 years old, but it is a Rolls Royce”………….
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Pierfrancesco Di Giuseppe
4.0 out of 5 stars Libro interessante per i cultori della materia : guerra Vietnam
Reviewed in Italy on March 23, 2021
Verified Purchase
Rivela aspetti interessanti e non noti... ma è troppo incentrato sulle vicende personali dell'autore e risente dell'epoca in cui venne scritto... gli anni '70
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Cao Trac
5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless
Reviewed in Australia on October 31, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book documents the events that took place some 46 years ago in the dying days of a country that was created by the US. But as the US moved on, the people on the ground had to deal the consequences and all the confusion, pain and suffering that went with it. Do you know what it is like to lose one’s country?

Yet, the book is as relevant today as it was then. The book provides knowledge, insights and wisdom that current policy makers and implementers should appreciate. Alas, mankind has a wonderful habit of repeating the same errors as the previous generations. A great read but some knowledge or understanding of Vietnam’s modern history is preferable to put these tragic events into context.
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jimbo
4.0 out of 5 stars Funny..
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2014
Verified Purchase
Funny.... I was prompted to review this book whilst sitting in Saigon having read it in the UK many weeks ago. Saigon and the world have moved on now. Many of the old haunts have gone and memories faded. Most Vietnamese have no memory of pre-1986 reform communism, let alone the war.

Frank Snepps's account propels you back to 1970s Vietnam and was written whilst fresh in his memory. Tales of single-handed heroism, miscalculation, lunacy, dishonesty, betrayal, politicking... it's all there. You know the outcome before you start - helicopters leaving from rooftops and communist tanks rolling through the gates of the presidential palace. Snepp tells you how this "was allowed" to happen, joining the dots between the Nixon bombing of 1972 and the final conclusion. For all the documentaries around, this does seem to be one of the best accounts of this particular failure of US foreign policy during this time, not to mention the collapse of a country.
One person found this helpful
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