From Library Journal
The author, formerly a student in Shanghai and at Southern Illinois University, uses primary sources from Chinese archival materials to provide new information on and analysis of Chinese leader Mao Zedong's behavior during the Cold War. Chen takes further the current literature on Chinese security interests (see Andrew J. Nathan and Robert S. Ross's The Great Wall and the Empty Fortress, LJ 7/97; for Mao's life, see Philip Short's Mao: A Life, LJ 11/15/99, and Ross Terrill's Mao Zedong: A Biography, Stanford Univ., 2000) and presents two important points: First, he argues that Mao made decisions primarily based on his ability to promote "continuous revolution" in China and bolster his own power. And, second, he asserts that Mao used the Chinese people's "victim mentality" (i.e., the feeling that foreign powers were poised to take unfair advantage of China's vulnerabilities) to rally public opinion. The author investigates several case studies, including the rise of the Cold War, America's "loss" of China, the Sino-Soviet alliance, the Korean War, the first and second Indochina War, the Polish-Hungarian crisis, and the Taiwan Strait crisis. We are fortunate to have this book because of the author's analysis and use of sources that are not generally available to non-Chinese. Highly recommended for all academic libraries and public libraries with international relations collections. Peggy Spitzer Christoff, Rockville, MD Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
This comprehensive study of China's Cold War experience reveals the crucial role Beijing played in shaping the orientation of the global Cold War and the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. The success of China's Communist revolution in 1949 set the stage, Chen says. The Korean War, the Taiwan Strait crises, and the Vietnam War--all of which involved China as a central actor--represented the only major "hot" conflicts during the Cold War period, making East Asia the main battlefield of the Cold War, while creating conditions to prevent the two superpowers from engaging in a direct military showdown. Beijing's split with Moscow and rapprochement with Washington fundamentally transformed the international balance of power, argues Chen, eventually leading to the end of the Cold War with the collapse of the Soviet Empire and the decline of international communism. Based on sources that include recently declassified Chinese documents, the book offers pathbreaking insights into the course and outcome of the Cold War.


About the Author
Chen Jian is C. K. Yen Professor of Chinese-American Relations at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, Professor of History at the University of Virginia, and Zijiang Visiting Professor at East China Normal University.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This comprehensive study of China's Cold War experience reveals the crucial role Beijing played in shaping the orientation of the global Cold War and the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The success of China's Communist revolution in 1949 set the stage, Chen says. The Korean War, the Taiwan Strait crises, and the Vietnam War -- all of which involved China as a central actor -- represented the only major "hot" conflicts during the Cold War period, making East Asia the main battlefield of the Cold War, while creating conditions to prevent the two superpowers from engaging in a direct military showdown. Beijing's split with Moscow and rapprochement with Washington fundamentally transformed the international balance of power, argues Chen, eventually leading to the end of the Cold War with the collapse of the Soviet Empire and the decline of international communism.

Based on sources that include recently declassified Chinese documents, the book offers pathbreaking insights into the course and outcome of the Cold War.

FROM THE CRITICS

Foreign Affairs

Chen's extensive documentation will boldly challenge the revisionist view of a more pragmatic Mao.

Odd Arne Westad

A major contribution to our understanding of Chinese Cold War history. Chen Jian's unrivaled control of the new and plentiful Chinese source materials is evident throughout, as an inspiration to other scholars in the field.

Library Journal