A review by peterbergmann
The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China, 1776 to the Present by John Pomfret

5.0

Summarizing the centuries-long relationship between the United States and China in a single book is a monumental task but John Pomfret did a fairly good job. The book was informative and comprehensive in its scope and gave me a better contextual understanding of the relations between the two great powers. In particular, I learned much more about the role of missionaries and Christianity in China in the 1800s and beyond as well as the interesting relationship dynamics between the US, the CCP, and the KMT in the pre-WWII, WWII, and post-WWII years. The confusing stances and posturing by all parties was carefully explained in a way that helped me better understand the motives and the history that undergirded those motivations. The book was a bit dry but it's tough to describe historical topics with neutrality and accuracy without erring a bit on the side of dryness so it wasn't a deterring factor. I recommend this book for those who want to understand the historical backgrounds and factors leading to the current US-China relationship, especially in regards to Taiwan.