In this book Michael Riccards, renowned scholar of the American presidency, focuses his study on the vagaries of presidential leadership between nations. Tracing the history of the often difficult and contentious diplomatic relations between the United States and China, Riccards describes and analyzes various meetings and interactions. He concludes that war and trade necessities intimately bound the histories of both nations--often in spite of their individual rhetoric and initiatives. Students and scholars whose focus is the points of contact between U.S. and Asian history will find this book essential reading.

A remarkable history of the two-centuries-old relationship between the United States and China, from the Revolutionary War to the present day From the clipper ships that ventured to Canton hauling cargos of American ginseng to swap Chinese tea, to the US warships facing off against China's growing navy in the South China Sea, from the Yankee missionaries who brought Christianity and education to China, to the Chinese who built the American West, the United States and China have always been dramatically intertwined. For more than two centuries, American and Chinese statesmen, merchants, missionaries, and adventurers, men and women, have profoundly influenced the fate of these nations. While we tend to think of America's ties with China as starting in 1972 with the visit of President Richard Nixon to China, the patterns—rapturous enchantment followed by angry disillusionment—were set in motion hundreds of years earlier. Drawing on personal letters, diaries, memoirs, government documents, and contemporary news reports, John Pomfret reconstructs the surprising, tragic, and marvelous ways Americans and Chinese have engaged with one another through the centuries. A fascinating and thrilling account, The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom is also an indispensable book for understanding the most important—and often the most perplexing—relationship between any two countries in the world.

The author chronicles three generations of her late husband's family, all of who fought against the injustices they encountered in their homeland of China.

"For twenty centuries China--known as the Middle Kingdom--lay dormant under the mantle of the Confucian system. It was a feudal society in which there was a place for everyone, supervised by mandarins and gentry who made sure that few strayed from their allotted niches. Those who were born poor remained poo, and there was no chance whatsoever for a better life. Then within only 38 years--1911-1949--everything radically changed. China was ripped apart by the explosive force of new ideas from the West. In practical terms, the upheaval took the form of an unrelenting duel between two titans: Chiang Kai-shek, champion of the old values, and Mao Tse-tung, representative of the Communist Party--the prophet of the future. To understand the policies of the tough men who rule Peking today, it is necessary to delve into the past, to search for motives and clues to what awaits both China and the West. 'Duel For The Middle Kingdom' is the extraordinary work that explains China today by clarifying its recent past. In its compelling pages, William Morwood tells the stories of the colossal blunder that enabled Sun Yat-sen to topple the Manchu Empire and create the Chinese Republic; the infamous Shanghai Massacre, when Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek tried to exterminate the Communists; the Red Army's 6,000-mile Long March around the rim of China to escape Chiang's murderous Kuomintang forces; the bitter wars--both civil and against the Japanese--before the People's republic was proclaimed in 1949. 'Duel For The Middle Kingdom' also brings to life the famous Americans--Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, General Stilwell, Marshall, and others--who tried in various ways to turn the tide of China's destiny. All failed because none could understand the underlying dynamics of a nation convulsed by a desperate need for change."--Front and back flaps of book jacket.

The next U.S. president will need to pursue a new strategic framework for advancing American interests in the Middle East. The mounting challenges include sectarian conflict in Iraq, Iran's pursuit of nuclear capabilities, failing Palestinian and Lebanese governments, a dormant peace process, and the ongoing war against terror. Compounding these challenges is a growing hostility toward U.S. involvement in the Middle East. The old policy paradigms, whether President George W. Bush's model of regime change and democratization or President Bill Clinton's model of peacemaking and containment, will no longer suit the likely circumstances confronting the next administration in the Middle East. In R estoring the Balance, experts from the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution and from the Council on Foreign Relations propose a new, nonpartisan strategy drawing on the lessons of past failures to address both the short-term and long-term challenges to U.S. interests. Following an overview chapter by Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, and Martin Indyk, director of the Saban Center, individual chapters address the Arab-Israeli conflict, counterterrorism, Iran, Iraq, political and economic development, and nuclear proliferation. Specific policy recommendations stem from in-depth research and extensive dialogue with individuals in government, media, academia, and the private sector throughout the region. The experts include Stephen Biddle, Isobel Coleman, Steven A. Cook, Steven Simon, and Ray Takeyh from the Council on Foreign Relations and Daniel L. Byman, Suzanne Maloney, Kenneth M. Pollack, Bruce Riedel, ShibleyTelhami, and Tamara Cofman Wittes from Brookings' Saban Center.