about face: a history of america's curious relationship with china, from nixon to clintonby...
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About Face: A History of America's Curious Relationship with China, from Nixon to Clintonby James H. MannReview by: Lucian W. PyeForeign Affairs, Vol. 78, No. 3 (May - Jun., 1999), p. 149Published by: Council on Foreign RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20049334 .
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Asia LUC?AN W. PYE
About Face: A History of Americas Curious
Relationship with China, from Nixon to Clinton, by james H. mann. New
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999, 352 pp. $30.00.
In this outstanding study of U.S.-China
relations, James Mann of The Los Angeles Times skillfully combines archival research
and extensive interviews with both
high- and low-ranking American officials.
His conclusion: None of the U.S. admin
istrations had well-reasoned China
policies. Obsessed with secrecy, Nixon
and Kissinger were so awed by the historical
significance of their visits to Beijing that
they confused Mao's banalities for words
of great wisdom. George Bush foolishly sought to revive secret meetings in the
wake of the Tiananmen tragedy. Both
Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton had to make total about-faces from their
positions as candidates to their official
China policies. The very richness of
Mann's account underscores the gap between American intentions and
accomplishments?a gap that leaves the
impression that the Americans were
outwitted at nearly every turn, if only due to the lack of comparable details
about their Chinese counterparts. This
problem aside, Mann has set standards
that scholars of diplomatic history will find hard to match. His smooth and
quiedy witty prose style, combined with his
insights into the American personalities, makes his account one of lively politics, not
abstract strategic calculations.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS - May/June 1999 [149]
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