The Last Empress

Madame Chiang Kai-shek and the Birth of Modern China

Nonfiction, History, Asian, China, Biography & Memoir, Royalty
Cover of the book The Last Empress by Hannah Pakula, Simon & Schuster
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Hannah Pakula ISBN: 9781439154236
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publication: November 3, 2009
Imprint: Simon & Schuster Language: English
Author: Hannah Pakula
ISBN: 9781439154236
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication: November 3, 2009
Imprint: Simon & Schuster
Language: English

With the beautiful, powerful, and sexy Madame Chiang Kai-shek at the center of one of the great dramas of the twentieth century, this is the story of the founding of modern China, starting with a revolution that swept away more than 2,000 years of monarchy, followed by World War II, and ending in the eventual loss to the Communists and exile in Taiwan.

An epic historical tapestry, this wonderfully wrought narrative brings to life what Americans should know about China -- the superpower we are inextricably linked with -- the way its people think and their code of behavior, both vastly different from our own.

The story revolves around this fascinating woman and her family: her father, a peasant who raised himself into Shanghai society and sent his daughters to college in America in a day when Chinese women were kept purposefully uneducated; her mother, an unlikely Methodist from the Mandarin class; her husband, a military leader and dogmatic warlord; her sisters, one married to Sun Yat-sen, the George Washington of China, the other to a seventy-fifth lineal descendant of Confucius; and her older brother, a financial genius.

This was the Soong family, which, along with their partners in marriage, was largely responsible for dragging China into the twentieth century. Brilliantly narrated, this fierce and bloody drama also includes U.S. Army General Joseph Stilwell; Claire Chennault, head of the Flying Tigers; Communist leaders Mao Tse-tung and Chou En-lai; murderous warlords; journalists Henry Luce, Theodore White, and Edgar Snow; and the unfortunate State Department officials who would be purged for predicting (correctly) the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War.

As the representative of an Eastern ally in the West, Madame Chiang was befriended -- before being rejected -- by the Roosevelts, stayed in the White House for long periods during World War II, and charmed the U.S. Congress into giving China billions of dollars. Although she was dubbed the Dragon Lady in some quarters, she was an icon to her people and is certainly one of the most remarkable women of the twentieth century.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

With the beautiful, powerful, and sexy Madame Chiang Kai-shek at the center of one of the great dramas of the twentieth century, this is the story of the founding of modern China, starting with a revolution that swept away more than 2,000 years of monarchy, followed by World War II, and ending in the eventual loss to the Communists and exile in Taiwan.

An epic historical tapestry, this wonderfully wrought narrative brings to life what Americans should know about China -- the superpower we are inextricably linked with -- the way its people think and their code of behavior, both vastly different from our own.

The story revolves around this fascinating woman and her family: her father, a peasant who raised himself into Shanghai society and sent his daughters to college in America in a day when Chinese women were kept purposefully uneducated; her mother, an unlikely Methodist from the Mandarin class; her husband, a military leader and dogmatic warlord; her sisters, one married to Sun Yat-sen, the George Washington of China, the other to a seventy-fifth lineal descendant of Confucius; and her older brother, a financial genius.

This was the Soong family, which, along with their partners in marriage, was largely responsible for dragging China into the twentieth century. Brilliantly narrated, this fierce and bloody drama also includes U.S. Army General Joseph Stilwell; Claire Chennault, head of the Flying Tigers; Communist leaders Mao Tse-tung and Chou En-lai; murderous warlords; journalists Henry Luce, Theodore White, and Edgar Snow; and the unfortunate State Department officials who would be purged for predicting (correctly) the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War.

As the representative of an Eastern ally in the West, Madame Chiang was befriended -- before being rejected -- by the Roosevelts, stayed in the White House for long periods during World War II, and charmed the U.S. Congress into giving China billions of dollars. Although she was dubbed the Dragon Lady in some quarters, she was an icon to her people and is certainly one of the most remarkable women of the twentieth century.

More books from Simon & Schuster

Cover of the book The Battle for WondLa by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book Ghost Ship by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book The King of Fear by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book Cats' Night Out by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book The Evangelicals by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book Double Pink by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book Fleur de Leigh in Exile by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book La encrucijada (The Crossroads) by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book Let Me Call You Sweetheart by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book Love Him Or Leave Him, but Don't Get Stuck With the Tab by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book Yellow Kayak by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book Fantastic Frankie and the Brain-Drain Machine by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book Pygmalion by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book Roadside Crosses by Hannah Pakula
Cover of the book Homefront by Hannah Pakula
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy