China 1945

September 8, 2014
Asia expert and former foreign correspondent Bernstein (The Coming Conflict with China) addresses a pivotal year in
Sino-American relations in this meticulously researched, stimulating book.
Recent skirmishes between the superpowers hark back to this “turning point” 70 years ago when relations between Washington and Beijing soured. Bernstein opens with an overview of the devastating and prolonged Second Sino-Japanese War. A cast of American war heroes rescued China from Japan and established a democracy, but American leaders were blindsided by the Chinese Communist Party’s alliance with the Soviets, which was a major cause of U.S. involvement in two subsequent Asian wars. Part two introduces the colorful American diplomat Patrick J. Hurley and the ongoing struggle of the U.S. to keep Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the nationalist Kuomingtang, in power, while part three explores the dilemma of U.S. policy toward a China “divided into two countries.” President Truman appointed George C. Marshall ambassador to China at the end of 1945, but the following year brought chaos, and nothing could divert Mao from his policy of revolution. Arguing that in 1945 American foreign policy was “bungling, inconsistent, and improvised,” Bernstein states that going forward the U.S. must set reasonable goals and pursue them sensibly. It’s a timely analysis that sheds light on the realities of American engagement in Asia. Agent: Kathy Robbins, Robbins Office.

October 1, 2014
Journalist Bernstein (The East, the West, and Sex: A History of Erotic Encounters, 2009, etc.), who was the first bureau chief in China for Time, uses his considerable expertise on the Chinese Revolution to create this immensely readable account of how the United States "lost" China to the communists and who was ultimately at fault: the Americans, the Soviets or Mao?The dilemma of whom America should back as the Chinese civil war gained steam-the U.S. officially supported Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang Nationalist People's Party yet did not want to alienate Mao Zedong's surprisingly resourceful Communists-was further exacerbated by the eight-year war with Japan. That war had consolidated the KMT's resources, giving Mao a respite from Chiang's attempts to wipe out the Communists and allowing them to gain an equitable status in fighting No. 1 enemy Japan. The State Department's "China hands," who would eventually be vilified as communist sympathizers-e.g., John Paton Davies, John Stewart Service and John Carter Vincent-were "naively dazzled by the Communists in 1944 and 1945" and lulled by Mao's charm campaign to put aside ideological differences with Chiang in the concerted effort to defeat Japan. Yet once Japan was vanquished and the Soviet Union rolled into Manchuria on Aug. 9, 1945, the Americans, led by Ambassador Patrick J. Hurley, continued to be optimistic (at the Yalta Conference, the Americans had agreed to give the Russians "certain privileges in China"), while Chiang, desperate for American support, saw the writing on the wall. Bernstein deftly sifts through the complex machinations of these excruciating few months, when all parties slyly engaged in a similar tactical ploy: "ingratiate yourself with your enemy when you need to keep him at bay, confuse him, or...exploit the 'contradictions' between him and other enemies, to prevent them from combining against you." A nuanced hindsight assessment that expertly pursues the historical ramification of roads not taken.

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October 15, 2014
Bernstein (Ultimate Journey, 2001), who spent the 1980s as a self-described China watcher for Time magazine, examines the pivotal moments at the close of WWII that would define the trajectory of U.S.-China relations for decades to come. As the war moved into its endgame, the U.S. continued to provide military support for the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek, but it also quietly opened diplomatic relations with Mao Zedong's increasingly powerful Communist forces. It was clear that the civil war that had been (barely) paused to address the Japanese threat was about to be restarted, but it was unclear which side would win, or how the Maoists would rule should they prevail. It may be tempting to consider alternate histories in which Sino-American relations never cooled, Bernstein argues in this cogent and engaging selection, but to imagine a past in which Mao was an allyor even remained unaligned in the Cold Waris to ignore considerable evidence about Mao's intentions and strategic methods.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

June 15, 2014

A longtime reporter and cultural commentator who has written frequently about China (his Ultimate Journey was a New York Times Best Book), Bernstein makes us rethink our assumptions about the relationship between China and America by examining the turning-point year of 1945. Early that year, America was on comfortable terms with Mao and his Communist followers, but Mao's ambitious maneuvering, ideological conflict in U.S. military and diplomatic ranks, and the sense that China would soon be emerging on the world stage combined to push the U.S. government toward Chiang Kai-shek.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 1, 2014

Would the Cold War have unfolded differently in Asia if the United States had cultivated a closer relationship with the Chinese communist party during World War II? That is the primary question of Bernstein's (A Girl Named Faithful Plum) latest work. While America and China collaborated against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War, the relationship between the two countries deteriorated in 1945 when the United States lent support to Chiang Kai-shek, an anticommunist statesman who served as head of the Nationalist government in China from 1928 to 1949. Bernstein argues that this cooperation had major implications for America's later involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He concludes that communist revolutionary Mao Zedong's steadfast devotion to Stalin's political ideology of Marxism-Leninism meant there was not much the United States could have done to prevent an acrimonious relationship with Chinese communists after World War II. VERDICT This thoroughly researched and well-argued work is highly recommended for those interested in Sino-American relations during the World War II and Cold War periods. The inclusion of stories from individuals impacted by these events adds to the book's value. Readers interested in China's World War II experience should also consider Rana Mitter's Forgotten Ally.--Joshua Wallace, Ranger Coll., TX

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2014

Would the Cold War have unfolded differently in Asia if the United States had cultivated a closer relationship with the Chinese communist party during World War II? That is the primary question of Bernstein's (A Girl Named Faithful Plum) latest work. While America and China collaborated against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War, the relationship between the two countries deteriorated in 1945 when the United States lent support to Chiang Kai-shek, an anticommunist statesman who served as head of the Nationalist government in China from 1928 to 1949. Bernstein argues that this cooperation had major implications for America's later involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He concludes that communist revolutionary Mao Zedong's steadfast devotion to Stalin's political ideology of Marxism-Leninism meant there was not much the United States could have done to prevent an acrimonious relationship with Chinese communists after World War II. VERDICT This thoroughly researched and well-argued work is highly recommended for those interested in Sino-American relations during the World War II and Cold War periods. The inclusion of stories from individuals impacted by these events adds to the book's value. Readers interested in China's World War II experience should also consider Rana Mitter's Forgotten Ally.--Joshua Wallace, Ranger Coll., TX

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.