Forgotten Ally

China's World War II, 1937 - 1945

De: Rana Mitter

Narrado por: Simon Vance

The epic, untold story of China's devastating eight-year war of resistance against Japan.

For decades, a major piece of World War II history has gone virtually unwritten. The war began in China two full years before Hitler invaded Poland, and China eventually became the fourth great ally, partner to the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain. Yet its drama of invasion, resistance, slaughter, and political intrigue remains little known in the West.

Rana Mitter focuses his gripping narrative on three towering leaders: Chiang Kai-shek, the politically gifted but tragically flawed head of China's Nationalist government; Mao Zedong, the Communists' fiery ideological stalwart, seen here at the beginning of his epochal career; and the lesser-known Wang Jingwei, who collaborated with the Japanese to form a puppet state in occupied China. Drawing on Chinese archives that have only been unsealed in the past 10 years, he brings to vivid new life such characters as Chiang's American chief of staff, the unforgettable "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, and such horrific events as the Rape of Nanking and the bombing of China's wartime capital, Chongqing. Throughout, Forgotten Ally shows how the Chinese people played an essential role in the wider war effort, at great political and personal sacrifice.

Forgotten Ally rewrites the entire history of World War II, yet it also offers surprising insights into contemporary China. No 20th-century event was as crucial in shaping China's worldview, and no one can understand China, and its relationship with America today, without this definitive work.

©2013 Rana Mitter (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Simon Vance is the best

Any additional comments?

Simon Vance is my favorite narrator, fiction or nonfiction. Terrific job with the pronunciation of innumerable Chinese names and places. A wonderful book on an all-too-often forgotten part of the Second World War.

Excellent overview of the China theater

Mitter does us all a service for this excellent work on World War II's China theater. It provides a balanced take on the role of the major players, particularly in laying out the often insurmountable difficulties faced by the nationalists (which are forgotten or dismissed by other histories, such as Tuchman's 'Stillwell and the American Experience in China.') The book spends much of its time on political and diplomatic events, and could have provided more detail on the major battles and military realities on the ground. The narrator gave a solid performance, but as with most audiobooks on China bungles the pronunciation of various names and places.

Outstanding read, top notch recording, challenging listen

The book itself is an excellent account of a poorly-understood aspect of World War II and its impact on China’s role in modern geopolitics. The recording is excellent. However, the, at times, rapid iteration of names, places, and affiliations may be difficult to follow without repeating portions of the narration, especially if the listener doesn’t already have somewhat of an, understanding of the regional geography of China and of many of the primary and secondary personalities in Chinese, Japanese, US, British, Russian, and German geopolitics at the time. If this is the case, the written version of the book, would be preferable.

A big missing piece

What made the experience of listening to Forgotten Ally the most enjoyable?

Discovering things that put much into perspective: China's situation in the 20th century and its evolution, Japan's invasion of China and China's war of resistance, the relationship between the Kuomingtang and the communists (Russian and Chinese), the relationship between western countries and Asia a few decades ago, the character of the much maligned Chiang Kai-shek and the enormous difficulties he faced, how American views of China were formed.

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, he is generally quite good. His pronunciation of Chinese words is mostly OK (recognizable, which is already better than what I've heard from certain professors specializing in Asia or even China).

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes....not much of the former though I'm afraid.

Any additional comments?

A must for anyone who wants to understand 20th century history.

Questionable historical perspective

Good enough book, however the author apparently chooses to embrace his/her biases, rather than try to avoid them (or at least address and apologize for them). The book focuses on - and gives all benefits of doubt and the author's sympathy to - Shang of the Nationalists. Mao is largely ignored or glossed over while General Stilwell is essentially blamed for the failures of Shang's regime, as well as his well known character flaws.

It's not clear why the author chooses to give Shang ample context and paint scenes of his humanity to cover up or lessen the fact that he was the leader of a notoriously ineffective and corrupt government that ultimately failed, while attacking Stilwell for his (mostly) accurate criticism of the failures of the Nationalists and ignoring Stilwell's precarious position as soldier and diplomat, as well as Stilwell's genuine and well-documented regard for the Chinese.