2/5

An attempted intervention into the Historiography of Republican China this book ends up coming a bit short of its stated aims I think. While great care is taken in making us understand Chiang the man, I don’t think we get a great picture of the Generalissimo as a political and historical force. The story avoids some pitfalls of Chinese history in this period and doesn’t bog down the reader with too much information about each and every military campaign conducted by Chiang but also doesn’t really give us alternative narratives about these events unless forced to by the turn of events.

Was Chiang a fabulously corrupt tyrant or a strong family man and father figure to China? The book doesn’t seem able to come down strongly anywhere on this question, and in attempting to portray the latter often ignores the former. Was the movement against Chiang, spearheaded by the CCP a Soviet incursion into Chinese politics or an organic movement against the Nationalist’s foibles? Another question this book has to confront but then fails to deal with fully. We’re left to make our own conclusions, which seems less than ideal in a book so clearly trying to change the narrative.