Thunder Out of China Paperback – August 22, 1980

A tale of Peanut and Moose Dung.
This is not a historian's view of mid century China, but a surprisingly readable and fresh contemporary (1946) look by two American journalists. The authors worked for Time in China. (White would later become very successful with a series of books about American elections.) Though Time was strongly supporting Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang, the book criticizes the nationalist government strongly.

The advantage of contemporary perspective, ie the freshness and the first hand views, outweighs the problems of contemporary shortsightedness, ie the lack of access to knowledge that was discovered later. The book mentions no sources, but the story is told well. Most books of that kind lose their luster within a few years, they become dated. Apart from the aging problem of subject matter, few journalists can really write good prose. These could.

The structure combines chapters on special subjects with a chronological narration of the war. It starts with a superb essay on Chongqing, the war time capital. Much of that is the authors' own observation, or fresh second hand information. We get a chapter on China's peasants, a key subject for the understanding of the country. It tells a consistent story, but is it true, or is it just conventional knowledge? A skeptical attitude might be justified.
The KMT is characterized as an alliance of coastal business people with rural landed gentry. A mini biography of CKS shows him as a highly incompetent military leader and administrator, but a skillful political manipulator. His government was inefficient, corrupt and tyrannical.
A chapter on the communists and their headquarters in Yenan is, regrettably, a little romantic, and rather mistaken in its confidence that moderation in land right questions could be expected in future.

The most relevant subject for American readers: the role of Americans in China, the relation between the two countries. Was America 'allied to a corpse', as Ludendorff had said about Germany and Austria in WW1? As weak as the Chinese military machine was, it did manage to keep substantial Japanese resources tied down. The American commander, Vinegar Joe Stilwell, was expected to perform miracles on a shoestring. Priority on China was low in terms of resources. On the other hand, the Chinese were hoping for a Japanese defeat at the hand of the Americans. Hence, no whole hearted commitment by either side.

The authors agree with Stilwell's acidic view of the Chinese army and leadership. After CKS succeeded in getting Stilwell replaced, American policies in China changed towards taking clear sides in the internal Chinese confrontations. Unfortunately, Peanut (Stilwell's 'code name' for Chiang) was about to lose against Moose Dung (Ambassador Hurley's pronunciation of Mao's name). Americans were blind arbiters, meaning that neither ambassador nor new military chief had a clue what was happening.
Would the confrontation between the USA and China have been avoidable with a more intelligent and more diplomatic approach? Pure speculation.

The following quote strikes me as an insight that is as true today, under party rule, as it was then, under the various previous rulers: (Page 29)
'Appeal by the peasant against the oligarchy that rules him is useless. The local government to which he must appeal against iniquitous taxes, usurious interest, common police brutality, is by its very constitution the guardian of the groups that crush him.'
We can read the book as a study of the trouble that is caused by the absence of the rule of law.

This is probably the best account of the history of China for the period from the Ming Dynasty forward I have ever read. I read the original book when I was in Hiighschool, thanks to a very alert librarian who placed it in my hands. I could not put it down then and I still find it captivating. If one wants to know how we got from then to where we are in the far east, this is the book to start the process. Re-publishing this was a public service. Peace to End All Peace by Fromkin is my choice for anyone interested in the Middle East.

This is a must read for anyone interested in the real story of China and World War II. White and Jacoby tell what was really going on in China between the National government and the Communist government, and how the US played a vital role in the final outcome. Uncensored reporting of the struggle for independence, who were the good guys and the bad guys, and the tragerty of General Stillwell who could have put it right. The book tells the truth about all the major characters, and knowing the future history of China makes the book more interesting and a surprise.

I saw a movie based on information in this novel. I was a youngster during WWII so I had a big interest in what was going on. I watched the window flags in the windows of the homes of service men change from Blue (serving), to Bronze (missing), to silver (wounded) to gold (killed in action).

My brother was in the Navy in the Pacific and after the invasion and typhoon in Okinawa, he went to Japan and China. My cousin was on the Lexington when it was sunk by the Japanese at the Battle of the Coral Sea. He swam to another ship, then went to the Atlantic where he was on the pocket carrier, the Block Island. He wore the Lexington patch on his shoulder so when he was rescued, the sailors said, "We don't want you Lex Guys. You are bad luck.

I was very interested in the early raid on Tokyo. The bomber pilots who flew the bombers who took off the carrier in the Doolittle Raid landed in China, at least some of them make it.

I also watched shows about the Flying Tigers and Merrill's Marauders, and such. So, I still have an interest.

I'm not quite half way through the book. It is somewhat repetitive but the author could not avoid that. He paints a vivid portrait of Chiang Kai-shek which did not change my opinion of him as a leader. He was not loved by the United States and British Military.

One thing that is prominent is the corruption of Chinese officials, most of them anyway, and the sorrowful state of the Chinese peasantry.

I'm eagerly waiting for entries of British and American Military operations.

More later!

fascinating book, I met him in 1969, fascinating man.

Good story of era lost.

The more I read about China the more I am convinced the United States should stay out of foreign countries internal affairs.
The "who lost China" crowd should have been jailed.

excellent