The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: History of US-China Relations from 1776 to Present | Diplomatic Studies & International Relations Book | Perfect for Historians, Political Scholars, and China-US Relations Enthusiasts
$30.8
$56
Safe 45%
The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: History of US-China Relations from 1776 to Present | Diplomatic Studies & International Relations Book | Perfect for Historians, Political Scholars, and China-US Relations Enthusiasts
$30.8
$56
45% Off
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SKU: 14712230
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Description
A remarkable history of the two-centuries-old relationship between the United States and China, from the Revolutionary War to the present dayFrom the clipper ships that ventured to Canton hauling cargos of American ginseng to swap Chinese tea, to the US warships facing off against China's growing navy in the South China Sea, from the Yankee missionaries who brought Christianity and education to China, to the Chinese who built the American West, the United States and China have always been dramatically intertwined. For more than two centuries, American and Chinese statesmen, merchants, missionaries, and adventurers, men and women, have profoundly influenced the fate of these nations. While we tend to think of America's ties with China as starting in 1972 with the visit of President Richard Nixon to China, the patterns―rapturous enchantment followed by angry disillusionment―were set in motion hundreds of years earlier. Drawing on personal letters, diaries, memoirs, government documents, and contemporary news reports, John Pomfret reconstructs the surprising, tragic, and marvelous ways Americans and Chinese have engaged with one another through the centuries. A fascinating and thrilling account, The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom is also an indispensable book for understanding the most important―and often the most perplexing―relationship between any two countries in the world.
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Reviews
*****
Verified Buyer
5
This is a wonderful volume on Sino-American relations since the beginning of the US. John Pomfret does an excellent job of choosing excellent stories to tell that demonstrate an aspect of China-US relations. We learn that in the late 1700s to early 1800s, China was quite important to US shipping. A recurring theme is the rising expectations on both sides being dashed when realistic policies come into play. The relationship certainly does seem to be fairly special over the entire course of its existence. We see China gets special attention from missionaries, from businessmen, and even from the US government at times. Pomfret focuses on US-China relations before 1900 on a mostly individual rather than governmental level, and then after about 1900 it focuses more on intergovernmental relations as the world wars, the rise of the Communists in China, and to the current day.Pomfret writes in entertaining prose, and has numerous interesting people to talk about throughout the entire book. I never felt as if the book was going too long, and even hoped that it could extend a little farther to see Pomfret's views on the Trump administration. Pomfret writes quite realistically about the dashed hopes on both sides, and he highlighted for me the behavior that China was able to get away with since they were recognized by the US in the 1970s. I think Pomfret gives a balanced discussion while also emphasizing just how much the US and China have relied on each other, and how much US investment was helpful in raising the Chinese economy to its current size (though full credit for the economic boom must go to a variety of actors including the Chinese people and government itself).Pomfret also gives a nice history of the Chinese Nationalists (Kuomintang), that shows that while the Nationalists don't have a spotless record, it is much better than the impression given in most history books. Chiang Kai Shek and his Nationalists really were the ones who fought the Japanese, and they were not as well supported by the US and Western Powers as is taken for granted.Overall, just a very enlightening read. I thoroughly recommend the book to anyone interested in the China-US relationship. It's fascinating and well-researched throughout.
