A Force So Swift

     BOOK REVIEW:   A gripping narrative of the Truman administration's response to China and the triumph of Mao Zedong's communist forces in 1949---an extraordinary political revolution that continues to shape East Asian politics to this day.   In the opening months of 1949, U.S. President Harry S. Truman found himself faced with a looming diplomatic catastrophe---"perhaps the greatest that this country has ever suffered," as the journalist Walter Lippmann put it. Throughout the spring and summer, Mao Zedong's Communist armies fanned out across mainland China, annihilating the rival troops of America's one-time ally Chiang Kai-shek and taking control of Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities. As Truman and his aides---including his shrewd, ruthless secretary of state, Dean Acheson---scrambled to formulate a response, they were forced to contend with not only Mao, but also with unrelenting political enemies at home. Over the course of this tumultuous year, Mao would fashion a new revolutionary government in Beijing, laying the foundation for the creation of modern China, while Chiang Kai-shek would flee to the island sanctuary of Taiwan, and the subsequent wars in Korea and Vietnam.
     Drawing on Chinese and Russian sources, as well as recently declassified C.I.A. documents, Kevin Peraino tells the story of this remarkable year through the eyes of the key players, including Mao Zedong, President Truman, Secretary of State Acheson, Minnesota congressman Walter Judd, and Madame Chiang Kai-shek, the influential first-lady of the Republic of China.
     Today, the legacy of 1949 is more relevant than ever to the relationships between China, the United States, and the rest of the world, as Beijing asserts its claims on the South China Sea and tensions endure between Taiwan and the mainland.

     MY REVIEW:   This book is difficult to review, because while I enjoyed it and was not bored, I could not read much at a time, and I can't tell you everything I read. It is history, so there is MUCH to recall. It was written very well, and was easy to follow, just a lot of information.
     This book seemed to be more about Truman and America's response to China's problem than the actual take-over of Mao's Communist army. And politics are not something I can wrap my head around. From what I can gather:
     Truman was lost on how to respond in a way that would avoid catastrophe and be effective, while his aids very firmly believed in completely opposite responses.
     Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of China who is fighting Mao's army, is losing both battle and hope, and his wife Madame Chiang goes to America to gather support while he hides away for several months.
     Madame Chiang, while using everything she has, is unsuccessful in gathering enough support for her country.
     Mao Zedong is working with Stalin of Russia and is successful in taking over China, all but the island of Taiwan, the last Nationalist refugee where Chiang Kai-shek and his remaining people are taking cover. 
     And how I understand it, America's withdrawal from China in the end led to an invasion of South Korea, and North Korea's attack, and the war in Vietnam. America's non-committal response to the forces of communism gave these leaders the freedom to invade their surrounding countries.
     ---"Kevin Peraino is a veteran foreign correspondent who has reported from around the world. A senior writer and bureau chief at NEWSWEEK for a decade, he was a finalist for the Livingstone Award for foreign reporting and part of a team that won the National Magazine Award in 2004. He is the author of Lincoln in the World: The Making of a Statesman and the Dawn of American Power."---

   I received a copy of this book from BLOGGING FOR BOOKS and was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my own.