While in Bangkok, Kenneth decided that he wanted to buy a fine watch. The Thai would have gladly given him a watch, however Kenneth wanted to buy one. The Thai took him to a jewelry store, showing him the finest watch in the store, stating that he…
Upon returning from his trip, Kenneth wanted to get his newly acquired hat blocked. He took it to his usual New York man, Lewis Saltz, and had him block the hat. Saltz made a large ordeal of the hat, displaying it for some time. Saltz took great…
Kenneth called the Board of Economic Warefare and asked Gordon Bowles if they had a job for someone who was an expert on Thailand and Malaya. They answered, "Yes, and his name is Kenneth Landon."
Kenneth delivered the Taft lectures at the University of Cincinnati, and Margaret accompanied him. Cincinnati wanted Kenneth to join its department of philosophy, in which he would be its specialist on Oriental philosophy. The people there treated…
When Kenneth arrived in Burma, the consul general, Glen Abby briefed him on conditions in the country. Burma was disturbed politically, and the Burmese were determined to drive the British out of their country. There were plots and people being shot…
Kenneth tells of GS rankings in the government. He tells how even at the very top of GS-16, he made nearly the same pay as a GS-18. He described how theese were really "supergrades", as the regular grades only went up to GS-15.
In October, 1941, Kenneth had a tooth pulled at a "speed dentist's." The man had six chairs and was working them all at the same time, pulling out teeth. It was like a barber shop. The procedure cost $2. Kenneth recalls the dentists he used in…
Upon sending the reports of the arrested Burmese man to Gordon Gray, the National Security adviser to President Eisenhower, the stories were immediately relayed to the President himself! Kenneth exclaims he had never reported so quickly and directly…
While Kenneth was in Hanoi, he often asked Ho about Bao Dai, who had been the emperor. Bao Dai had abdicated in favor of Ho Chi Minh. Kenneth told him he wanted to see Bao Dai, so he arranged for Kenneth to meet Bao Dai, who was an educated man, and…
Ernest Griffith, of American University, called upon Kenneth one day near the end of 1964. He explained he had two professors who would be going on sabbatical, and that there would be a gap in the program and they hoped Kenneth might consider.…
One of the OSS men, the son of a US senator, was murdered at the airport in Hanoi. He was mistaken for a Frenchman because he was brought up in France. When Kenneth was in Hanoi the senator called him to ask him to try to find out more about the…
We begin on Kenneth's 1950 trip to Southeast Asia. The new King, King Phumipol, was going to get married and be crowned, and he was going to cremate his brother, King Ananda, before the marriage and coronation. Kenneth suggested that the US send the…
Ho needed the help of the Americans to keep the French out of Indochina. Kenneth told Ho that he was the man who had drafted that policy, which really put him in tight with Ho. Many of the discussions Kenneth had with Ho were in the field of…
There was no regular transportation between Saigon and Hanoi except under the authority of the French Admiral or the British General Gracie. At the time, there was only one plane in Saigon, a C-47, with bucket seats down the aisles. One of our OSS…
Kenneth tells of bringing the "biggest living thing in the state Department" with him to his new job. His avacado tree had been started by an old maid. Kenneth was asked to take care of it and he graciously agreed. The tree grew to quite some size.
When Kenneth was a student at Wheaton, there were Gospel teams, and Kenneth joined one. The team would go out to testify in big black churches and white churches, and one church they visited was the Christian Science Church right there in Wheaton.…
Kenneth speaks of the three books he has written. All of them were "primary studies" that had never been made before. Siam in Transition was a seminal study that all subsequent studies had to begin with, "whether they liked it or not." His second…
Kenneth was going to fly to Hanoi, so he went to the airport but found no one there. He waited for hours before General Salan showed up, well fed and smelling of wine. The plane took off and Kenneth tried to have a conversation with the General. He…
Kenneth had been working for several years, off and on, on a book about an American adventurer named Walter Gibson. Gibson had gotten crosswise with the Dutch, and they had thrown him into a prison called Weldebreton. He had been tried for various…
Kenneth recalls a story in which he was going to a dinner party with Malcolm MacDonald. Kip asked where he was going all dressed up, and Kenneth explained he would be attending a dinner for work. His son was shocked to hear he'd be going out to…
When Kenneth was a student at the University of Chicago under A. Eustace Haydon, he was "a very conservative Calvinist" and Haydon was one of the two leading humanist philosophers in the U.S. Kenneth would challenge Haydon's premises, which Haydon…
Kenneth details the loyalty of his employees. Eleanor Idol, the librarian, and Bob Bazell, Kenneth's right hand man in administration, both said that they loved working with Kenneth. They explained to him that they wanted to continue working with him…
Kenneth discusses a conversation he had with Colonel Charles Hostler. Hostler was explaining to Kenneth that he brought his own destruction by not complying with the military. Kenneth told Hostler that he was quite satifsfied and proud of the job he…
Kenneth retells the story of his encounter with Prime Minister Sarit. This includes that, while traveling in 1960, he was personally invited to breakfast with Sarit. Again, he tells of Sarit speaking highly of him and recounting their dinner in which…