Chiang Kai Shek : China's Generalissimo and the Nation He Lost

Rating:
Summary: A Complex Life Against Many Odds.
Review: Throughout World War II, Chiang Kai Shek ruled China (at least in the eyes of the Western Powers). He sat at the conference tables with Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin. He helped define the peace terms, the shape of the world after the war. During this time he held power through a very complex time:
. he was supported in power by a series of Chinese war lords,
. he fought wars against both the Japanese and the Chinese Communists,
. he retained the cooperation of, if not the respect of the Western Powers.

After his defeat by the Communists he moved his government to Formosa and became a major player in the containment of the China he had once lead.

During these years, and since, his background the struggles he had to achieve power and have been reported in western books only sparsely. Drawing extensively on original Chinese sources and accounts by contrmporaneous journalists, Mr. Fenby explores little-known international connections in Chiang's story as he unfolds a story as fascinating in its conspirtional intrigues as it is remarkable for its pwychological insights. This is the definitive English lnguage biography of the man who, despite his best intentions, helped create modern-day China.