Michael Schaller Ordine dei libri (cronologico)

Torn between Japanese aggression and a bloody civil war, China presented a complex challenge to American policymakers from 1938 until the end of World War II. This account explores the Americans who traveled to China, both openly and covertly, and their influence on the U.S. decision to reject Chinese Communist overtures and support Chiang Kai-shek's regime. Michael Schaller illustrates how the surge of U.S. interest in Chinese politics led to a situation few Americans grasped. The mission, initially aimed at bolstering Chiang's Kuomintang against Japan, evolved into a web of conflicting personalities and unclear motivations. Schaller critiques the diplomatic approaches of Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, who misjudged the rapid power shifts in China, viewing the civil war as a struggle between Soviet-inspired revolution and nationalism, despite Mao Tse-tung's rising influence and Chiang's regime's corruption. American officials, including General Joseph Stilwell, sought to maintain U.S. influence by forming alliances with various factions. The narrative also details American covert operations in wartime China, including plans for air attacks on Japan and attempts to assassinate Chiang. Schaller reveals how these covert strategies distorted the competition among Chinese factions for U.S. support, ultimately leading to increased backing for Chiang and entrenching the U.S. in a prolonged struggle for control in Asia.

From the Opium Wars of the 1840s to the Red Scare of the 1940s, and through events like the Tiananmen "massacre" of 1989 and the Wen Ho Lee "espionage case" of 2000, Chinese-American relations have fluctuated significantly. This thoroughly revised and updated third edition examines over a century of turmoil between the two nations from a dual perspective, highlighting the interactions and collisions of their distinct cultures. It draws on extensive research from both American and Chinese scholars to explore the cycles of cooperation and hostility between their governments and peoples. Special emphasis is placed on China's unique role during the Cold War and its significance in the American focus on the Vietnam War. The book also delves into the connections between domestic policies in both countries and their international actions. The post-World War II section has been completely revised, incorporating a wealth of new primary materials and research since 1990. Additionally, two new chapters focus on Chinese-American relations during the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations, analyzing the paradox of increasing cooperation alongside a renewed American fear of China in political discourse.

From the Opium Wars of the 1840s, to the Red Scare of the 1940s, through the Tiananmen Square "massacre" of 1989, and the Wen Ho Lee "espionage case" of 2000, Chinese-American relations have swung like a pendulum throughout the years. Now in its fourth edition and thoroughly revised and updated, The United States and China: Into the Twenty-First Century looks at more than a century of Chinese-American turmoil from a dual perspective, examining how two dramatically different cultures interacted, cooperated, and collided.