Weidenfeld & Nicolson Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-1945

This is another great book by Tuchman, author of the famed 'Guns of August'. Although lengthy, it gives wonderfully deep yet easy reading coverage of the history of the US and Chinese involvement in the China--Burma-India theater during WWII. In style and concept it is very similar to Bright Shining Lie by Sheehan about JP Vann in Vietnam.With reference to Vietnam, I was staggered by the similarities between US involvement with Chaing KS and Diem 20 years later and would love this to have been discussed in this book.The writing style is engaging and often very humorous owing to the cantankerous nature of the main protagonist. I particularly enjoyed Stillwell's constant references to CKS as 'the Peanut'. Good as it is, it does not touch on the ensuing civil war and the Kuomintang exile to Formosa - Mao is barely mentioned at all.I wish I had read this before trying to understand US involvement in Korea, the debacle of McCarthyism and the ultimate disaster of Vietnam - all of which can be seen as a continuum from US involvement with the Peanut.

Well documented.. we should all understand this time in China's history

This is about a man who spent a lot of his life trying to promote Western values in China. And in particular tried to get the Nationalists to do more against the Japanese, but largely failed. Though quite right-wing in US terms, a Republican who disliked Roosevelt, he saw the Chinese Communists as a useful element. He found the supposedly pro-Western elements in China rather alien and impossible to work with. But he wasn't listened to - you might see parallels with the later Vietnam War and now the Iraq and Afghan wars.

Mrs. Tuchman has placed a tremendous amount of information in this book. As the title suggests, "Stilwell and the American Experience in China" there are two distinct issues discussed in a well-detailed manner. The first, Gen. Joe (Uncle Joe, Vinegar Joe) Stilwell's biography is a highly sympathetic view of one of America's forgotten heroes of World War II. Gen Stilwell's background in training and tactics is emphasized as is his extensive linguistic ability and tremendous level of experience in China. This level of experience was gained by several tours in China and by his own courage and initiative (read the book for details). In short, Gen Stilwell is portrayed as being uniquely qualified for his mission in China to train the Chinese military, specifically the Army and Air Force, to fight the Japanese (short term goal) and to transform China into a World Power to counterbalance Russian and Japanese ambitions in Asia (long term goal). Moreover, a strong, democratic China would deter the European powers from reacquiring their former colonies (for example, France and Indo China), a key component of Roosevelt's view of Asia's future. The second theme of the book is the American experience in China from 1911 - 1949. As you might imagine, that given Stilwell's tasking in World War II, the two themes are sufficiently linked to keep the book readable. The Chinese (both Nationalist and Communist) are portrayed as being completely unable to compromise and as willing to say and do whatever was needed to maintain political power and position themselves for success after the defeat of the Japanese. The perception by most observers was that the Communists were more willing to fight the Japanese then the Nationalists, but that topic must wait for another day. In short, the great tragedy of Stilwell's experience in China was not that he believed that he could achieve all of his goals, but rather that he knew the colossal obstacles in his path, yet continued to drive himself to the breaking point. In both Stilwell's drive and in the political and cultural motivation of the Chinese leadership, there are important lessons for the current period. Indeed, this book should be required reading for any Foreign Service officer who works with or in China. However, it would be an interesting read for anyone interested in China or in the U S military. In short, Mrs. Tuchman has done what she is famous for: Transforming a highly complex issue into a form that can be read and enjoyed by the layman.

Stillwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45, may not deliver that feel-good, "how we won the war" bump, but it does offer a thoughtful and highly readable account of America's attempts to come to terms with an emerging superpower.Pulitzer laureate Barbara Tuchman follows the career of Joseph Stilwell, a dyed-in-the-wool Yankee and West Point graduate, who was posted as a military attaché to the Legation in Peking in l920 - only nine years after the Chinese threw off imperial rule. During World War II, he was named Allied Chief of Staff to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek. The contest of wills between these two men occupies much of the book: Stilwell wanting to take over and train Chinese into crack units to resist the Japanese; Chiang insisting that the Americans handle Japan while he and his lackluster troops occupied themselves hunting down Communists. Their story reveals a larger clash of cultures, pitting Stilwell, the pragmatic, tactless Westerner, against Chiang, a would-be emperor trapped by inertia and the need to save face.Tuchman revels in detail but keeps her story moving briskly. (It tends to get bogged down in Burma, but so did the Allies.) Generally favorable to Stilwell, she points out the folly of trying to impose top-down a set of Western values upon a non-Western culture. As for training a listless army to prop up a tinpot dictator? It was not a good idea then, and it's not a good idea now.