Generalissimo

This book tells an extraordinary story of one of the main figures of the last century who has been largely forgotten today but should not be. He wasn't a nice man - few big rulers are. But he and his times were fascinating. As well as Chiang, who came from nothing to rule China, the book tells of the huge wars and struggles that marked China before the Communist victory that settled the fate of 500 million people. Alongside the wars and politics (both very well described for the layman) the book is full of characters who could step straight out of a novel - warlords who controlled territory the size of a big European country and rode into battle sitting in coffins with their mistresses, the wide open city of Shanghai with its gangsters, tycoons and wild night life, and the strange inland city where Chiang fought his long war with Japan surrounded by a great collection of characters from the West as well as from his own country. I was afraid the book might be rather too heavy and expert for a non-specialist, but I found it a compelling read from the opening episode where Chiang is kidnapped one Christmas by one of his generals. The parallels for teh United States of what it did in China in the war with japan and what it is doing today in Iraq is interesting. to say the least. Then there was the bitter civil war which ended with Chiang's defeat and his exile to the island of Taiwan - what I hadn't tealised befroe reading this book is how near he came to wiping out the Communists.

Then there is Madame Chiang who died just the other week at an incredibly advanced age - she wooed American politicians and barged into a summit conference with Churchill and Roosevelt in a way that no other leader's wife would have dared to do. Not being a specialist on China I can't judge the academic sourecs in the book but they seem to be pretty complete. As a general reader, I thoroughly recommend this as a tremednous read which really told me something about modern history.