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A Force So Swift
- Mao, Truman, and the Birth of Modern China, 1949
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
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Publisher's summary
A gripping narrative of the Truman administration's response to the fall of Nationalist China and the triumph of Mao Zedong's Communist forces in 1949 - an extraordinary political revolution that continues to shape East Asian politics to this day.
In the opening months of 1949, US President Harry S. Truman found himself faced with a looming diplomatic catastrophe - "perhaps the greatest that this country has ever suffered", as the journalist Walter Lippmann put it. Throughout the spring and summer, Mao Zedong's Communist armies fanned out across mainland China, annihilating the rival troops of America's onetime ally Chiang Kai-shek and taking control of Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities. As Truman and his aides - including his shrewd, ruthless secretary of state, Dean Acheson - scrambled to formulate a response, they were forced to contend not only with Mao but also with unrelenting political enemies at home. Over the course of this tumultuous year, Mao would fashion a new revolutionary government in Beijing, laying the foundation for the creation of modern China, while Chiang Kai-shek would flee to the island sanctuary of Taiwan. These events transformed American foreign policy - leading ultimately to decades of friction with Communist China, a long-standing US commitment to Taiwan, and the subsequent wars in Korea and Vietnam.
Drawing on Chinese and Russian sources as well as recently declassified CIA documents, Kevin Peraino tells the story of this remarkable year through the eyes of the key players, including Mao Zedong, President Truman, Secretary of State Acheson, Minnesota congressman Walter Judd, and Madame Chiang Kai-shek, the influential first lady of the Republic of China.
Today, the legacy of 1949 is more relevant than ever to the relationships between China, the United States, and the rest of the world as Beijing asserts its claims in the South China Sea and tensions endure between Taiwan and the mainland.
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- Unabridged
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In chronicling the adventurous life of legendary CIA operative Edward Lansdale, The Road Not Taken definitively reframes our understanding of the Vietnam War. In this epic biography of Edward Lansdale (1908-1987) best-selling historian Max Boot demonstrates how Lansdale pioneered a "hearts and mind" diplomacy, first in the Philippines, then in Vietnam. It was a visionary policy that, as Boot reveals, was ultimately crushed by America's giant military bureaucracy.
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An honest look at Vietnam Nam and USA
- By Catherine on 01-16-18
By: Max Boot
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The Brothers
- John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: David Cochran Heath
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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John Foster Dulles was secretary of state while his brother, Allen Dulles, was director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In this book, Stephen Kinzer places their extraordinary lives against the backdrop ofAmerican culture and history. He uses the framework of biography to ask: Why does the United States behave as it does in the world?
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A duel biography
- By Jean on 09-26-14
By: Stephen Kinzer
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Pearl Harbor
- FDR Leads the Nation into War
- By: Steven M. Gillon
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Franklin D. Roosevelt famously called December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy." History would prove him correct; the events of that day - when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor - ended the Great Depression, changed the course of FDR's presidency, and swept America into World War II. In Pearl Harbor, acclaimed historian Steven M. Gillon provides a vivid, minute-by-minute account of Roosevelt's skillful leadership in the wake of the most devastating military assault in American history. FDR proved both decisive and deceptive, inspiring the nation....
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rehash that excludes faults of FDR
- By mike hammer on 10-31-11
By: Steven M. Gillon
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The China Mirage
- The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia
- By: James Bradley
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In each of his books, James Bradley has exposed the hidden truths behind America's engagement in Asia. Now comes his most engrossing work yet. Beginning in the 1850s, Bradley introduces us to the prominent Americans who made their fortunes in the China opium trade. As they - good Christians all - profitably addicted millions, American missionaries arrived, promising salvation for those who adopted Western ways.
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Gross Negligence!
- By Donald Hill on 05-31-18
By: James Bradley
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Troublesome Young Men
- The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England
- By: Lynne Olson
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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On May 7, 1940, the House of Commons began perhaps the most crucial debate in British parliamentary history. On its outcome hung the future of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's government and also of Britain - indeed, perhaps, the world. Troublesome Young Men is Lynne Olson's fascinating account of how a small group of rebellious Tory MPs defied the Chamberlain government's defeatist policies that aimed to appease Europe's tyrants and eventually forced the prime minister's resignation.
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Spectacular Narrative History Book
- By Nostromo on 11-30-18
By: Lynne Olson
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Red Heat
- Conspiracy, Murder, and the Cold War in the Caribbean
- By: Alex von Tunzelmann
- Narrated by: Sarah Coomes
- Length: 19 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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The Caribbean crises of the Cold War are revealed as never before in this riveting story of clashing ideologies, the rise of the politics of fear, the machinations of superpowers, and the daring of the brazen mavericks who took them on. The superpowers thought they could use Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic as puppets, but what neither bargained on was that their puppets would come to life.
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Interesting, not extraordinary.
- By History on 10-24-11
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The Accidental President
- Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World
- By: A. J. Baime
- Narrated by: Tony Messano
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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The dramatic, pulse-pounding story of Harry Truman's first four months in office, when this unlikely president had to take on Germany, Japan, Stalin, and the atomic bomb, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
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Exceptional
- By Jean on 11-14-17
By: A. J. Baime
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Arik
- The Life of Ariel Sharon
- By: David Landau
- Narrated by: Waler Dixon
- Length: 19 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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From the former editor in chief of Haaretz, the first in-depth, comprehensive biography of Ariel Sharon, the most dramatic and imposing Israeli political and military leader of the last forty years. The life of Ariel Sharon spans much of modern Israel’s history. A commander in the Israeli Army from its inception in 1948, Sharon participated in the 1948 War of Independence, played decisive roles in the 1956 Suez War and the Six-Day War of 1967, and is credited here with the shift in the outcome of the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
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Larger than Life Hero
- By Eugene Choong on 10-07-24
By: David Landau
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Nixon and Mao
- The Week That Changed the World
- By: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Barbara Caruso
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Margaret MacMillan brings her extraordinary gifts to two of the most important countries today, the United States and China, and one of the most significant moments in modern history: Richard Nixon's week in China in February 1972, which opened relations between America and China (closed since the communists came to power in 1949).
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Incisive
- By Roy on 08-23-10
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A World of Trouble
- The White House and the Middle East
- By: Patrick Tyler
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 27 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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The Middle East is the beginning and the end of U.S. foreign policy: events there influence our alliances, make or break presidencies, govern the price of oil, and draw us into war. But it was not always so - and as Patrick Tyler shows in this thrilling chronicle of American misadventures in the region, the story of American presidents' dealings there is one of mixed motives, skulduggery, deceit, and outright foolishness, as well as of policymaking and diplomacy.
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Does't deliver
- By Matthew on 02-10-09
By: Patrick Tyler
What listeners say about A Force So Swift
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Yang
- 12-31-19
Nothing new
As a mainland Chinese I hoped to see a book that facilitates mutual understanding between two people. So far I didn’t see any. This book focused way too much on top figures, largely ignored the Chinese people and the dynamics behind the Chinese revolution. It didn’t help any person to understand why there was a revolution and what is the role the US played in it. Maybe as a book aiming the English speaking market, this is the limit of this kind of books can go.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Tracy Nelson
- 10-22-20
An Interesting Journey
I found this was an interesting listen that brought me close to the main characters as events unfolded. While Chiang had his flaws, I do find it unfortunate that the author downplayed the undermining of his position going back to the Roosevelt Administration. The effects of American Soviet spies at the State Department are also dismissed, read about Adler and Service.
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- Dan
- 05-18-19
Very educational and interesting
This is a very important time period in the world and this is a great way to learn about it.
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- Jose
- 06-19-18
360-Degrees of China, Very Good History Book
The narration is great, big time professional
The history in this book is great and the work is very well organized. The coverage goes from Asia, to Washington, to Moscow, to India. The reader gets full coverage of this complex period.
The star of the book for me was Madam Chang. What a resilient person, her perspective is worth knowing because she was such a driving force and so influential.
Another great personality in the equation is Walter Judd in his battle with Dean Acheson. Were the Chinese people betrayed as an Allie versus Japan. Was their country given away to Marxists because it more expedient? Listen to this book and make the call yourself.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Ryan Kloster
- 09-29-17
A well told narrative for a critical period in history
Kevin Peraino details the crucial events of 1949 from many angles. By relating the personal stories of key actors across countries and idealogical divides, he weaves a rich tapestry which brings to life a well known, but less understood turning point in history. I highly recommend listening.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Gilberto Cintron
- 05-11-18
Unable to get voice sync after many attempts stuck on the samplr
Looks interesting but was interested in Audible version tough luck
Poor supporting Audible
About to remove book from lobrsry
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