A Force So Swift: Mao, Truman, and the Birth of Modern China, 1949

Nathan Webster said Strong history, written to put the reader in that pivotal moment of time. History as a way of condensing, the further time gets from the events at hand, and ends up filtering out all the nuance. Consequently, past events seem preordained instead of the results of lots of different decisions. In some ways, that's the case with China that Kevin Peraino describes here.I think most of the choices made by the principals - Truman, Mao, Stalin, etc - were ever going to be much different, but it's interesting to see how they all added up. Peraino has done a good job of wr. DanD said A facinating, compelling, and gripping historical text. During the course of 19A facinating, compelling, and gripping historical text DanD During the course of 1949, the future of East Asia changed forever. In Nationalist-led (and US-backed) China, Mao Zedong and his People's Liberation Army aggressively took control, backed by the Soviet Union. In the States, President Harry Truman and his Secretary of State Dean Acheson debated how to respond: to rush to the Nationalists' aid with a show of force, or to "wait and see," leaving China to an almost-certain Red fate. Their decision would lead to political intrigue, espionage, and. 9, the future of East Asia changed forever. In Nationalist-led (and US-backed) China, Mao Zedong and his People's Liberation Army aggressively took control, backed by the Soviet Union. In the States, President Harry Truman and his Secretary of State Dean Acheson debated how to respond: to rush to the Nationalists' aid with a show of force, or to "wait and see," leaving China to an almost-certain Red fate. Their decision would lead to political intrigue, espionage, and. A sweeping history of Great Man diplomacy in regard to the fledging of the PRC Journalist Kevin Peraino clearly operates in the Great Man conception of history. His book on the US and China in 19A sweeping history of Great Man diplomacy in regard to the fledging of the PRC Stephen O. Murray Journalist Kevin Peraino clearly operates in the Great Man conception of history. His book on the US and China in 1949, from the final throes of combat and the founding of the People’s Republic of China to Mao Zedong’s trip to Moscow to confer with Josef Stalin pays zero attention to social history or even macro-economic history. The Americans on whom he focuses are the president, Harry S. Truman, his secretary of state, Dean Acheson, and secretaries of defense, James V. Forresta. 9, from the final throes of combat and the founding of the People’s Republic of China to Mao Zedong’s trip to Moscow to confer with Josef Stalin pays zero attention to social history or even macro-economic history. The Americans on whom he focuses are the president, Harry S. Truman, his secretary of state, Dean Acheson, and secretaries of defense, James V. Forresta

Truman found himself faced with a looming diplomatic catastrophe--"perhaps the greatest that this country has ever suffered," as the journalist Walter Lippmann put it. Throughout the spring and summer, Mao Zedong's Communist armies fanned out across mainland China, annihilating the rival troops of America's one-time ally Chiang Kai-shek and taking control of Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities. commitment to Taiwan, and the subsequent wars in Korea and Vietnam. President Harry S.   Drawing on Chinese and Russian sources, as well as recently declassified CIA documents, Kevin Peraino tells the story of this remarkable year through the eyes of the key players, including Mao Zedong, President Truman, Secretary of State Acheson, Minnesota congressman Walter Judd, and Madame Chiang Kai-shek, the influential first lady of the Republic of China. Today, the legacy of 1949 is more relevant than ever to the relationships between China, the United States, and the rest of the world, as Beijing asserts its claims in the South China Sea and tensions endure between Taiwan and the mainland.. A gripping narrative of the Truman Administration's response to the fall of Nationalist China and the triumph of Mao Zedong's Communist forces in 1949--an extraordinary political revolution that continues to shape East Asian politics to this day. These events transformed American foreign policy--l

A senior writer and bureau chief at Newsweek for a decade, he was a finalist for the Livingston Award for foreign reporting and part of a team that won the National Magazine Award in 2004. KEVIN PERAINO is a veteran foreign correspondent who has reported from around the world. . He is the author of Lincoln in the World: The Making of a Statesman and The Dawn of American

This is narrative history at its most compelling." -Evan Thomas, author of Being Nixon  "Nineteen forty-nine was a transformative year in world affairs, and Kevin Peraino splendidly captures its significance and the larger-than-life personalities that made things happen. This book is excellent history that informs the headlines of today." -Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Destiny and Power   "Kevin Peraino has written a compelling narrative about the dramatic events of 1949, when Mao's armies defeated Chiang Kai-shek and Truman had to decide what to do about it. Herring, author of The American Century and Beyond. Brands, author of The General vs. An important book, and a great read." -George C. "China is li