Cantitate/Preț
Produs
Total produse
Vezi coșul
China Hand de J. R.

China Hand

Autor J. R.
en Limba Engleză Hardback – 3 feb 2012

Descoperim în China Hand o perspectivă rară asupra diplomației americane, scrisă de un om care a văzut istoria formându-se la intersecția dintre imperii și ideologii. John Paton Davies, Jr. nu este doar un observator, ci un participant activ într-un secol al extremelor, iar memoriile sale încep cu o onestitate tăioasă despre momentul concedierii sale — o victimă a paranoiei mccarthyiste care a măturat Departamentul de Stat. Suntem de părere că forța acestui volum rezidă în capacitatea autorului de a alterna între marea strategie politică și detaliul uman, oferind portrete memorabile unor figuri precum Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru sau Iosif Stalin.

În aceeași familie cu Joseph E. Davies de Elizabeth Maclean, volumul adaugă o dimensiune mult mai personală și aventuroasă, mutând accentul de pe culoarele birocratice ale Moscovei către realitatea brutală a frontului din Asia. Dacă alte lucrări ale autorului sub semnătura J. R., precum Chronicles sau Wrinkles, explorează condiția umană prin intermediul artei vizuale și al portretelor stradale, China Hand folosește cuvântul pentru a documenta aceleași teme: identitatea, reziliența și urmele lăsate de timp asupra societăților.

Structura cărții este cronologică și geografică, purtându-ne din Hankow până la Cairo și Washington. Capitolele dedicate perioadei petrecute alături de generalul Stilwell („Vinegar Joe”) și întâlnirii cu Mao Zedong în fieful comunist oferă o înțelegere profundă a eșecului politicii americane în China. Este un parcurs marcat de contrastul dintre „diplomația publică” și realitățile dure din teren, culminând cu o analiză sobră a modului în care cariera sa a fost sacrificată pe altarul politicii interne de acasă.

Citește tot Restrânge

Preț: 33681 lei

Puncte Express: 505

Carte tipărită la comandă

Livrare economică 25 mai-08 iunie

 Adaugă în coș

Wish list
Gift list
Am citit!
Adaugă în listă

Specificații

ISBN-13: 9780812244014
ISBN-10: 081224401X
Pagini: 376
Dimensiuni: 167 x 243 x 35 mm
Greutate: 0.72 kg
Ediția:New.
Editura: University of Pennsylvania Press

De ce să citești această carte

Recomandăm China Hand cititorilor pasionați de istorie politică și memorii diplomatice. Veți câștiga o înțelegere nuanțată a evenimentelor care au modelat Asia modernă, departe de clișeele manualelor. Este o lectură esențială pentru a înțelege rădăcinile tensiunilor actuale dintre SUA și China, scrisă cu umor sec și o inteligență critică de un diplomat care a plătit prețul integrității sale profesionale.

Cuprins

Foreword -Todd S. Purdum PART I. LEAVING AND RETURNING i The Firing ii From China to America iii My Itinerant Education iv Hankow, the Far East Desk, and Pearl Harbor PART II. "THIS ASSIGNMENT IS NOT MADE AT YOUR REQUEST NOR FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE" v To Asia with Stilwell vi A Moment with Mr. Gandhi vii Nehru and "The Problem" viii An American in India ix Willkie, Washington, and Vinegar Joe x Among the Naga Headhunters PART III. PUBLIC AND PERSONAL DIPLOMACY xi The Politics of War xii Cairo: With Roosevelt, Churchill, and Chiang xiii The Resurrection of Britain's Empire in Asia May Be Said to Lie Outside the Scope of Our Mission xiv Patricia's Passage to India; A Soong Family Fracas PART IV. THE QUESTION OF CHINA xv Stilwell's Wars xvi The Generalissimo Versus the General xvii Meeting Mao xviii Communists Versus Nationalists Versus Hurley PART V. MOSCOW NIGHTS AND DAYS xix Posted to Moscow xx Hurley's Opening Salvo xxi Postwar Moscow PART VI. AT WAR AT HOME xxii Returning to America, and the China Lobby xxiii Assigned to Kennan's Policy Planning Staff xxiv Working with the National Security Council xxv Revisiting Asia in 1948 xxvi "The Most Nefarious Campaign of Half-Truths and Untruth in the History of the Republic" Epilogue -Bruce Cumings Index Acknowledgments Gallery follows page 240

Recenzii

A History Book Club selection China Hand is low-key but forceful, at times quite deliciously witty... No doubt China Hand will be of particular interest to students of Chinese history from the 1930s to the 50s and of American diplomacy during the same period, but its greatest value is as the personal testament of a man who was the wholly innocent victim of political opportunism yet retained his sense of personal worth and, equally important, his undying loyalty to the country that had served him so poorly. His life should be an object lesson to everyone.-Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post "The book is filled with vivid personalities and brings to life the fluid strategic situation at the end of the war. Its wry style makes for a delightful read, even though the foreordained outcome suffuses the story with regret."-Foreign Affairs "An often funny, always insightful account of an adventurous and wonderful life. John Paton Davies was an American hero-judicious, discreet, and reliable-who deserves to be remembered by a book as good as this one."-Nicholas Thompson, author of The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War "From his battles with Senator McCarthy, to his heroic achievements in the Burmese jungle, from his insightful predictions of the Chinese civil war, to his ultimate dismissal from the U.S. Foreign Service, Davies holds nothing back. Loaded in story and analysis, China Hand is a terrific book about a fascinating figure in American history."-Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion "An important book about a pivotal time in America, with relevance for the present and future. As history and biography, China Hand is first rate."-Dan Rather "Among the State Department's 'China Hands' of the 1930s and 40s, John Paton Davies was one of the most eminent, until our domestic debates destroyed his career. China Hand is a gripping account of that era."-Dr. Henry A. Kissinger "Davies predicted more accurately than anyone else, prior to the Cold War, what China's course would be during it. We are most fortunate to have his posthumous autobiography available at last, in which he explains, in shrewd and sparkling prose, how he did this. His book is a major new contribution to World War II and early Cold War history."-John Lewis Gaddis, author of George F. Kennan: An American Life "China Hand is a vital missing link in the terrible story of America savaging itself politically over the Communist conquest of China. This testimony by a leading victim in that maelstrom of hysteria and falsehood makes sobering reading in today's political climate."-Robert MacNeil "[This] globetrotting memoir is rich in intrigue, candid, credible, and masterfully told."-Andrew Burstein, The Advocate

A History Book Club selection "An often funny, always insightful account of an adventurous and wonderful life. John Paton Davies was an American hero-judicious, discreet, and reliable-who deserves to be remembered by a book as good as this one."-Nicholas Thompson, author of The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War "From his battles with Senator McCarthy, to his heroic achievements in the Burmese jungle, from his insightful predictions of the Chinese civil war, to his ultimate dismissal from the U.S. Foreign Service, Davies holds nothing back. Loaded in story and analysis, China Hand is a terrific book about a fascinating figure in American history."-Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion "An important book about a pivotal time in America, with relevance for the present and future. As history and biography, China Hand is first rate."-Dan Rather "Among the State Department's 'China Hands' of the 1930s and 40s, John Paton Davies was one of the most eminent, until our domestic debates destroyed his career. China Hand is a gripping account of that era."-Dr. Henry A. Kissinger "Davies predicted more accurately than anyone else, prior to the Cold War, what China's course would be during it. We are most fortunate to have his posthumous autobiography available at last, in which he explains, in shrewd and sparkling prose, how he did this. His book is a major new contribution to World War II and early Cold War history."-John Lewis Gaddis, author of George F. Kennan: An American Life "China Hand is a vital missing link in the terrible story of America savaging itself politically over the Communist conquest of China. This testimony by a leading victim in that maelstrom of hysteria and falsehood makes sobering reading in today's political climate."-Robert MacNeil "[This] globetrotting memoir is rich in intrigue, candid, credible, and masterfully told."-Andrew Burstein, the Advocate

Descriere scurtă

In this wry and insightful memoir, distinguished American diplomat John Paton Davies, Jr. describes his upbringing and wartime adventures in Asia, encounters with key twentieth-century figures from Mahatma Gandhi to Joseph Stalin, and how he carried on after his Foreign Service career was cut short by McCarthyism.