Examines the rivalry between the US and Britain over China between World War II and the Korean War, a link that has been neglected by scholars distracted by the dominant theme of the Cold War. Finds that the two governments did not collaborate in any significant manner, that the succession from one imperial power to another was not particularly friendly, that the British considered the US fetish for antagonizing Mao Tse Tung misguided and dangerous, that the US missed its chance to consolidate power in the region and began the slide to Viet Nam in 1950, and that Britain had no choice by then but to tie their wagon to the wayward US in order to salvage the remnants of British imperial spoil. Paper edition (unseen), $25. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR