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Chasing the Dragon: A Veteran Journalist's Firsthand Account of the 1949 Chinese Revolution
In 1949 the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb, and eastern Europe had arranged itself into a constellation of communist satellite states, when China-the world's most populous nation--succumbed to what seemed to be an insurmountable tide of communist successes. Dumbfounded, America wanted to know, "Who lost China?"
Roy Rowan was one of only two living Western journalists who covered the fall of China, and in Chasing the Dragon, he recounts his personal experiences during one of modern history's most tumultuous and significant events. Writing for Life magazine from such datelines as Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenyang, Taiyuan, and China's Gettysburg-Xuzhou-he watched the horror and spectacle of the world's oldest continuous civilization tear itself apart as Chairman Mao Zedong's ragtag army saturated the Chinese countryside, choked off major industrial cities, and waited for them to "fall like ripe melons." With the fall of each city, Rowan had to plan an emergency evacuation by whatever means possible.
Through Rowan's personal interviews and experiences we meet colorful characters such as "Big Ears Tu," the crime boss of Shanghai's infamous Green Gang; "the Generalissimo" and his wife Madame Chiang Kai-shek, whose
dulcet tones of flawless Wellesley English belied her cool ruthlessness; the irrepressible Claire Chennault of "Flying Tiger" fame; and a personal acquaintance with Zhouenlai, who would become China's premier under Mao Zedong.
In the decades since, Rowan has traveled back to each battlefield, and has covered China for Time, Life, and Fortune. Chasing the Dragon is his fascinating firsthand account of an event that still continues to shape our world.
Roy Rowan was one of only two living Western journalists who covered the fall of China, and in Chasing the Dragon, he recounts his personal experiences during one of modern history's most tumultuous and significant events. Writing for Life magazine from such datelines as Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenyang, Taiyuan, and China's Gettysburg-Xuzhou-he watched the horror and spectacle of the world's oldest continuous civilization tear itself apart as Chairman Mao Zedong's ragtag army saturated the Chinese countryside, choked off major industrial cities, and waited for them to "fall like ripe melons." With the fall of each city, Rowan had to plan an emergency evacuation by whatever means possible.
Through Rowan's personal interviews and experiences we meet colorful characters such as "Big Ears Tu," the crime boss of Shanghai's infamous Green Gang; "the Generalissimo" and his wife Madame Chiang Kai-shek, whose
dulcet tones of flawless Wellesley English belied her cool ruthlessness; the irrepressible Claire Chennault of "Flying Tiger" fame; and a personal acquaintance with Zhouenlai, who would become China's premier under Mao Zedong.
In the decades since, Rowan has traveled back to each battlefield, and has covered China for Time, Life, and Fortune. Chasing the Dragon is his fascinating firsthand account of an event that still continues to shape our world.
262 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2004
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July 25, 2009
Fascinating. First hand account of the Chinese civil war. Makes me wonder how the Chinese race lasted this long.
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