274 pages / 6.00 x 9.00 inches / 10 halftones, 2 maps
History / Wars & Military Conflicts (other) | History / American History
In February 1972, President Nixon arrived in Beijing for what Chairman Mao Zedong called the “week that changed the world.” Using recently declassified sources from American, Chinese, European, and Soviet archives, Chris Tudda’s A Cold War Turning Point reveals new details about the relationship forged by the Nixon administration and the Chinese government that dramatically altered the trajectory of the Cold War.
Chris Tudda has been a historian in the Declassification and Publishing Division of the Office of the Historian, Department of State, since 2003. He is the author of The Truth Is Our Weapon: The Rhetorical Diplomacy of Dwight D. Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles.
“With skillful use of documentary evidence from American as well as international archives, including the White House tapes, Tudda offers the most comprehensive and nuanced examination on the making of the Sino-American rapprochement....Tudda does an outstanding job in pulling off the secretive cloak and bringing clarity to this historic conundrum.”—Journal of American History
“An outstanding book...the most trustworthy and convincing account of U.S.-China policy from 1969 to 1972 so far.”—American Historical Review
“A remarkably thorough, meticulously documented, and yet, utterly readable account of an important 'turning point' in Cold War history....A Cold War Turning Point is an important addition to the scholarship on Sino-American rapprochement and a model for the kind of detailed, international narratives that have been made possible by scholarly cooperation.”—Presidential Studies Quarterly
“A Cold War Turning Point is the most detailed, well-written, and meticulously researched historical account in American documents of the Nixon Administration’s opening to China. The narrative is given considerable color through the author’s extensive use of the Nixon tapes, which make clear the bureaucratic battles and internal struggles within the American government over the opening to China. This is a first-rate work of historical scholarship.”—Thomas Alan Schwartz, author of Lyndon Johnson and Europe: In the Shadow of Vietnam
“Using a wide array of U.S. and international archives, in particular, the untapped White House tapes, Chris Tudda has written an important book on U.S.-China rapprochement. It contributes greatly to our understanding of how the Nixon administration implemented the opening to China. It should be read by all who are interested in this crucial historical event that has since changed the world.”—Yafeng Xia, author of Negotiating with the Enemy: U.S.-China Talks during the Cold War, 1949-1972
“With the support of extensive and meticulous research, Chris Tudda’s A Cold War Turning Point adds a great deal to our knowledge of ‘the week that changed the world.’ His insightful discussion will be treasured by everyone who has strived to obtain a deeper understanding of one of the most important chapters in the global Cold War.”—Chen Jian, author of Mao’s China and the Cold War
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