The China Diary of George H. W. Bush: The Making of a Global President [Hardcover]

Jeffrey A. Engel (Editor), George H. W. Bush (Preface)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2008

Available in print for the first time, this day-by-day diary of George H. W. Bush's life in China opens a fascinating window into one of the most formative periods of his career. As head of the United States Liaison Office in Beijing from 1974 to 1975, Bush witnessed high-level policy deliberations and daily social interactions between the two Cold War superpowers. The China Diary of George H. W. Bush offers an intimate look at this fundamental period of international history, marks a monumental contribution to our understanding of U.S.-China relations, and sheds light on the ideals of a global president in the making.

In compelling words, Bush reveals a thoughtful and pragmatic realism that would guide him for decades to come. He considers the crisis of Vietnam, the difficulties of détente, and tensions in the Middle East, while lamenting the global decline in American power. He formulates views on the importance of international alliances and personal diplomacy, as he struggles to form meaningful relationships with China's top leaders. With a critical eye for detail, he depicts key political figures, including Gerald Ford, Donald Rumsfeld, Deng Xiaoping, and the ever-difficult Henry Kissinger. Throughout, Bush offers impressions of China and its people, describing his explorations of Beijing by bicycle, and his experiences with Chinese food, language lessons, and Ping-Pong.

Complete with a preface by George H. W. Bush, and an introduction and essay by Jeffrey Engel that place Bush's China experience in the broad context of his public career, The China Diary of George H. W. Bush offers an unmediated perspective on American diplomatic history, and explores a crucial period's impact on a future commander in chief.

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 )

The book is of unique historic, theoretical and practical value. Its ideal readership consists of international studies scholars and students of various disciplinary backgrounds, with particular interest in China studies as well as diplomatic and international business practioners. . . . I highly recommend it. (Wenshan Jia Journal of Chinese Political Science )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (April 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 069113006X
• ISBN-13: 978-0691130064
• Product Dimensions: 1.5 x 6.6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #460,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( B ) > Bush, George

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful

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

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Comments on China Diary by Bush February 6, 2010

By Edmund W. Peaslee Jr.

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Tis is an account of George H.W. Bush as American reoresentative in China 1074-5. It is of significant hisrorical value