The China Mirage: The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia

"Bradley is sharp and rueful, and a voice for a more seasoned, constructive vision of our international relations with East Asia." --Christian Science Monitor
James Bradley introduces us to the prominent Americans--including FDR's grandfather, Warren Delano--who in the 1800s made their fortunes in the China opium trade. Meanwhile, American missionaries sought a myth: noble Chinese peasants eager to Westernize.

The media propagated this mirage, and FDR believed that supporting Chiang Kai-shek would make China America's best friend in Asia. But Chiang was on his way out and when Mao Zedong instead came to power, Americans were shocked, wondering how we had "lost China."

From the 1850s to the origins of the Vietnam War, Bradley reveals how American misconceptions about China have distorted our policies and led to the avoidable deaths of millions. The China Mirage dynamically explores the troubled history that still defines U.S.-Chinese relations today.

• The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War
• Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
• The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War
• Flags of Our Fathers
• In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of US Global Power (Dispatch Books)
• Stilwell and the American Experience in China: 1911-1945
• China's Asian Dream: Empire Building along the New Silk Road
• Understanding China: A Guide to China's Economy, History, and Political Culture
• Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age
• Last Hope Island: Britain, Occupied Europe, and the Brotherhood That Helped Turn the Tide of War