The China Diary of George H. W. Bush: The Making of a Global President (Hardcover)

~ Jeffrey A. Engel (Editor), George H. W. Bush (Preface) "In late October 1974, George H. W. Bush flew to China..." (more)
Key Phrases: national day reception, embassy status, editor interview, United States, State Department, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Former president George H. W. Bush’s reputation significantly resides in his conduct of foreign affairs; this publication of a diary he dictated while de facto U.S. ambassador to the People’s Republic of China in 1974–75 will be important to students of his career. It opens with Bush’s candor about accepting the Beijing appointment: he wanted to get away from Watergate and to burnish his foreign policy credentials. Bringing a conviction that personal friendships matter in international relations, Bush’s meet-and-greet campaign as recorded in his day-to-day impressions collided with the tendency of nations to act according to self-interest. So disenchanted did Bush apparently become with bonhomie’s failure to improve U.S.-China relations that he quit keeping his diary during his last four months in the post. Still, the journal covers some arch gossip about Henry Kissinger and congressional delegations and the ripples felt in the Beijing diplomatic corps from the fall of Saigon, as well as Bush’s reflections about America’s proper role in the world. A trove for researchers, Bush’s observations on late Maoist China will also draw general readers interested in diplomacy. --Gilbert Taylor

Review

These diary entries--describing a cheerful round of visits, meals, tennis games, and efforts to strike up personal relationships with Chinese officials and the Beijing diplomatic corps--are nonetheless compulsive reading. They convey the local color of a quaint Beijing that is now lost to history, as well as reveal much about the gregarious character and social skills of the man who became the 41st U.S. president. Engel's exemplary notes and interpretative essay add to the volume's readability and scholarly value.
(Andrew J. Nathan Foreign Affairs )

[B]ush's year in China laid the foundations for the pragmatic, prudent, personal foreign policy that would characterize his presidency. With superb annotations and analysis by Jeffrey Engel, a professor of history and public policy at Texas A&M, Bush's daily diary sheds light not only on 'the making of a global president' but on two nations in transition: late Maoist China, as it moved, tentatively, toward engagement with the international community; and the United States, as it absorbed the implications of defeat in Vietnam.
(Glenn C. Altschuler Baltimore Sun )

As a president-to-be at a career crossroads and the second permanent representative of the U.S. in China, his frank thoughts recorded each night and now transcribed and expertly footnoted make for fascinating reading. Mr. Bush's official position and his lack of knowledge about China ensure that his diary offers little historically new. But in place of that, his day-by-day thoughts give something as valuable, a much-needed reminder of the diplomatic reality on the ground when the Sino-U.S. relationship was in its infancy. . . . In many ways, his time in China helped him to usher in a new world order with relatively little turbulence, regardless of how fragile that order is subsequently proving to be.
(Paul Mozur Far Eastern Economic Review )

In 1974, George H.W. Bush left his post as chair of the Republican National Committee to head the US legation in China. The assignment afforded him the opportunity to enrich his global vision and build on President Richard Nixon's 1972 opening to the communist regime there. Bush made the most of his ten months in Beijing. As edited and annotated in impressive detail by Jeffrey Engel, Bush's diary represents a treasure-trove of observations about the diplomatic climate, Chinese leaders, and the US notables who visited during his tenure.
(M.J. Birkner Choice )

Engaging, insightful, and accessible, this is a fascinating book, and certainly one of the most interesting published about the 41st President. Very highly recommended.
(Stefan Fergus Civilian Reader )

Although Sinologists will appreciate the details Bush offers of daily life for a U.S. diplomat in China in this era, political scientists might very well find the book's most useful offering to be its insights into his thinking.
(May-Lee Chai Asian Affairs )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; illustrated edition edition (April 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 069113006X
• ISBN-13: 978-0691130064
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #385,890 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 stars The China Diary of George H.W. Bush: The Making of a Global President, March 12, 2009

By	Diane M. Ruebling - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

George Herbert Walker Bush was an amazing President from many perspectives but he is particularly known for his diplomacy and brilliance in foreign affairs. This book will give you insight into the development of this man who eventually led the free world as well as some fascinating perspectives on the recent history of China on its way to becoming a super power.