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Title: Chiang Kai Shek : China's Generalissimo and the Nation He Lost by Jonathan Fenby ISBN: 0-7867-1318-6 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: 09 January, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Hopes betrayed
Comment: Fenby's remarkable biography pulls no punches. CKS, so promising at the start, and so brave when he is kidnapped (told at the start of the book), turns out to be like all dictators: all send and no receive. Fenby opens the book with the kidnapping and this gets us off to an exciting start with our sympathies firmly in the CKS camp. But the apalling relationship with Stilwell and the failure to take advantage of the ending of the war against the Japanese show him in his true light; a great man of his time but time moved on and left him behind.
Fenby's book is full of fascinating detail. Even though I had recently read Tuchman's "Stilwell", his portrait of the relationship with CKS brought out new shading and gossip. Meiling also is portayed in a new and more mysterious light.
A great read for anyone who wants to understand why modern China is so thoroughly confused about its past.
Rating: 3
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: Built up as the first comprehensive English language biography of Chiang in a quarter century, Fenby's book does little to further our collective understanding of this complex and important political and military leader. Fenby's goal seems not to have been to carry out an informative and critical analysis of Chiang's career, but rather to tell Chiang's story as a novelist would. As a result, the book focuses too often on peripheral details and amusing vignettes that ultimately have little to do with the Generalissimo himself. To Fenby's credit, this book is well-researched and very well written. However, for the student looking to gain penetrating insight into Chiang Kai-Shek as a leader, this book will prove to be greatly lacking.
Rating: 4
Summary: Finally, a modern biography of Chiang Kai-Shek
Comment: I have been waiting for this book for a long time. Not particularly this book, but any modern updated biography of Chiang Kai Shek. In recent years we have gotten updated biographies of Mao and Ho Chi Minh and now finally Chiang Kai-Shek.
First and foremost, this is a well written, well researched book. It is easy to read and never boring. So on that sense it is a good biography. The book also has some great pictures and good maps at the beginning of the book.
The book does a terrific job showing the politics going on in China between 1911 and 1945. The books strongest points about Chiang Kai-Shek are on his battles against the warlords and desires to eliminate the communists. I also felt the book did a great job discussing his wife, and her famous family the Soongs.
That being said, I felt the book was weak in its overall assessment of Chiang Kai-Shek. I got the impression that the author really did not want to make any strong judgements about Chiang Kai Shek. He does not hold back any facts, but just does not make strong judgements. However, the author is highly critical of Sun Yatsen, and General Stillwell. Two great men in history, this author is not afraid to judge, but Chiang Kai Shek he does not.
Sun Yatsen was a great leader and had such a vision for China, but Fenby is highly critical of him. Stillwell was exactly right on how Chiang Kai-Shek would lose China and was dead on in his assessment of KMT corruption. Instead, Fenby is critical of Stillwell. For a better look at Stillwell look at the Recent book on the Burma Road.
Also, I was surprized at how rushed the author gets at the end on the ultimate Communist victory. Fenby is great in discussing the Marshall visit and attempt to broker a peace, but his description of the Nationalist collapse and retreat to Taiwan was rushed in my opinion. Also, there is little to no information about Chiang Kai Shek on Taiwan.
But I am being picky. I enjoyed this book very much and am glad Fenby wrote it. Had Chiang Kai Shek been a better leader the history of Asia and the world would be very different.
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Title: Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom by Conrad Black ISBN: 1586481843 Publisher: PublicAffairs Pub. Date: November, 2003 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title: Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea by ROBERT K. MASSIE ISBN: 0679456716 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 28 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Red-Color News Soldier by Li Zhensheng ISBN: 0714843083 Publisher: Phaidon Press Inc. Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title: The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard J. Evans ISBN: 1594200041 Publisher: The Penguin Press Pub. Date: 05 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Taiwan: A Political History by Denny Roy ISBN: 0801488052 Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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