Books
Rana Mitter

Forgotten Ally

A history of the Chinese experience in WWII, named a Book of the Year by both the Economist and the Financial Times: “Superb” (The New York Times Book Review).
In 1937, two years before Hitler invaded Poland, Chinese troops clashed with Japanese occupiers in the first battle of World War II. Joining with the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain, China became the fourth great ally in a devastating struggle for its very survival.
In this book, prize-winning historian Rana Mitter unfurls China’s drama of invasion, resistance, slaughter, and political intrigue as never before. Based on groundbreaking research, this gripping narrative focuses on a handful of unforgettable characters, including Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong, and Chiang’s American chief of staff, “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell—and also recounts the sacrifice and resilience of everyday Chinese people through the horrors of bombings, famines, and the infamous Rape of Nanking.
More than any other twentieth-century event, World War II was crucial in shaping China’s worldview, making Forgotten Ally both a definitive work of history and an indispensable guide to today’s China and its relationship with the West.
714 printed pages
Original publication
2013
Publication year
2013
Have you already read it? How did you like it?
👍👎

Quotes

  • Коля Русинhas quoted5 years ago
    If we are to seize . . . a free, liberated “May Fourth,” we cannot accept the threats of fire and blood. We must seize with our whole hearts the new life of our great China! Our lives, our struggle, our victory, this is our new “May Fourth” slogan!
  • Коля Русинhas quoted5 years ago
    Japan and China were “as close as lips and teeth.”
fb2epub
Drag & drop your files (not more than 5 at once)