Reviews

"A swift-paced, absorbing account of the dangerous political maneuvers that engaged America with both China and the Soviet Union during the years between 1948 and 1972... Chang's account is impressively documented with once-classified records... This is a scrupulously detailed history, scholarly and at the same time filled with incident, insight, and personality... Chang paints a fascinating picture." - San Francisco Chronicle

This study makes thorough use of recently declassified documents to present a new view of American policy toward Communist China. Chang (American history, Univ. of California, Irvine) discovered that, contrary to official statements, U.S. policy had never assumed that Communism was a monolithic movement. He documents how the United States actively pursued policies which would aggravate the split between China and the Soviet Union, and how these policies were a major factor in American intervention in Korea and Vietnam. A disturbing sub-theme in this book is the racial prejudice and disdain for the Chinese which influenced American policy. This study is heavily documented, with 58 pages of notes and an impressive bibliography. Many of the previously unpublished photographs were obtained from Chinese sources. Recommended for all college and university libraries.-- Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, Pa.