Chiang Kai Shek

“A welcome reassessment of one of the most important and controversial leaders of the 20th century.” —Christian Science Monitor

With a narrative as briskly paced and vividly detailed as an international thriller, this indispensable biography of Chiang Kai-shek masterfully maps the tumultuous political career of Nationalist China's generalissimo as it reevaluates his brave but unfulfilled life.

Chiang Kai-shek was one of the most influential world figures of the twentieth century. The leader of the Kuomintang, the Nationalist movement in China, by 1928 he had established himself as head of the government in Nanking. But while he managed to survive the political storms of the 1930s, Chiang's power was continually being undermined by the Japanese on one side and the Chinese Communists on the other.

Drawing extensively on original Chinese sources and accounts by contemporaneous journalists, acclaimed author Jonathan Fenby explores little-known international connections in Chiang's story as he unfolds a story as fascinating in its conspiratorial intrigues as it is remarkable for its psychological insights. This is the definitive biography of the man who, despite his best intentions, helped create modern-day China.

“A comprehensive and accessible summary of Chaing's life.” —New York Times Book Review

“As rich in detail as its sweep is broad . . . a probing and well-argued account.” —Boston Globe

“A fast-moving political-military yarn populated by good guys and bad guys, and punctuated by gruesome battles, tense confrontations, political crises, floods and famines.” —Chicago Tribune