Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47645 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 592 pages

SUNDAY TIMES
'Highly readable ... It is an epic tale and Fenby tells it with panache'

SPECTATOR
'Fenby has a gripping story, and tells it with great verve and insight'

HISTORY TODAY
'A magisterial account of the brave and unfulfilled life of the man who lost China to Communism'

Customer Reviews

goes out of its way to let Chiang off the hook
I'd been looking out for a full biography of Chiang for quite some time so was very pleased to come across this title but oh! what a huge disappointment this book is! My first criticism is of the author's failure to discuss Chiang's life and career in Taiwan, choosing instead to end with the flight from the mainland after the civil war is lost. This is an important part of Chiang's life-story and not something to be dismissed with a cursory comment about how Chiang's life was very different in Taiwan. Secondly and most importantly his complete and utter failure to criticize Chiang for the worst aspects of his regime, namely the corruption and the brutality of the oppression is appalling. What is so galling is the fact that Fenby takes every available opportunity to criticise Mao and the communists for their failures but when it comes to Chiang, as in the discussion of the Shanghai massacres for example, shockingly brutal acts of savagery - hanging severed heads from lampposts for example - are simply passed over without a word of opprobrium. I note that this page includes a comment by the Sunday Telegrah calling the book `fair-minded', which is frankly laughable. At a time when even Taiwan is turning away from Chiang's legacy - removing his statues from public display, renaming places named after him etc Fenby's conclusion that Taiwan's eventual turn to democracy was Chiang goal all along - yes that's right Jonathan it was, after Chiang had had everyone who disagreed with him shot - is utterly bizarre and I would strongly urge seeking out 'Formosa Betrayed' by George H. Kerr for the rest of the story.

Biography of a supreme martinet
I started this book with minimal knowledge of China in the first half of the 20th century, beyond a knowledge of the key events. After reading Jonathan Fenby's magnus opus at 500 pages that gap in my knowledge has been very well filled. Using the life of Chiang Kai-Shek (CSK) up to his establishing of the National government in exile in Formosa (now Taiwan) this book is an excellent coverage of the history of China to 1950, very well wrtitten and great command of many sources and consistent probing analysis of the issues and problems CSK and China faced.

The sub title of the book "And the China he lost" is the key - Fenby uses the life of CSK from humble beginnings to show that while he may have had a major impact in uniting post Manchu China, he consistently by personal failings and lack of realism to see himself as other than the divine national leader of China whose word was law and to delegate power, left it open to the eventual communist takeover under Mao, a man who operated a similar autocratic approach but was pragmatic enough to create the rural revolution needed.

The first half of Fenby's book is about CSK's success at overcoming the various regional warlords whose feudal approach to local power and unwillingness to accept central government reads like England in the Middle Ages. However while this may count as CSK's great success it also showed many of the issues to come. CSK's military prowess was based on a mix of foreign military advisers (first Russian then German) and the use of bribery rather than personal military skills to often win victories. While making certain initial military reforms, CSK was unable to accept the wider need to invest in a high quality army relying on size and loyalty rather than skill and focus.

Having formed a loose regional federation, CSK then failed to seize the initiative to introduce much needed rural reform and instead aligned himself by marriage with corrupt urban wealthy families and launched a series of vicious attacks on the infant Communist party. His near success in eradicating the Communists was devastated by the Japanese invasion of China and the continual loss at great cost in lives of large and important areas of China to Japanese rule.

Even when presented with the golden opportunity of USA support post Pearl Harbour the opportunities were spurned due largely to CSK's nationalist attitude and lack of pragmatism and reality as to what was happening in China plus endless arguing with his US advisers who he saw threatening his authority. His endless meddling in military matters by issuing numerous orders when he was far from the front or executing a sound strategy plus the increasing corruption of his close followers meant that the Japanese were not pushed back and the Communists were able to survive and prosper.

With the end of WWII, CSK again took a gamble in the hope of playing off Russia and USA influences under the Cold War to survive but underestimated their lack of support based on his WWII performance - once his armies had to face down the communists his poor military skills became clear and the end was quick. Consistent to the end he ensured a retreat to exile in
Formosa with troops and gold leaving China to its fate but only after wreaking his final vengeance in murdering Chinese allies who he felt had betrayed him.

One finishes the book clear that while CSK may have had a major impact on China it came at a great cost and with little real chance of long term success given his inability to react correctly to changes in Chinese society and economy and foreign forces.

An extremely informative and impressive read
This book is colourful... the description, the soul of Chiang's life, leak from the pages as you read. Fenby not only writes as biographer but he writes as a historian. It helped me greatly with my coursework, but also allowed me to visualise the murky streets of Shanghai, the intrigues of the Green Gang, the fascinating, differing personalities of the Soong sisters and the man himself, Chiang Kai Shek in a completely new and exciting way.