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The Week That Changed the World
Random House Trade Paperbacks
March 2008
On Sale: March 11, 2008
448 pages
ISBN: 0812970578
EAN: 9780812970579
Paperback
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Non-Fiction History
With the publication of her landmark bestseller Paris 1919,
Margaret MacMillan was praised as “a superb writer who can
bring history to life” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Now she
brings her extraordinary gifts to one of the most important
subjects today–the relationship between the United States
and China–and one of the most significant moments in modern
history. In February 1972, Richard Nixon, the first
American president ever to visit China, and Mao Tse-tung,
the enigmatic Communist dictator, met for an hour in
Beijing. Their meeting changed the course of history and
ultimately laid the groundwork for the complex relationship
between China and the United States that we see today. That monumental meeting in 1972–during what Nixon
called “the week that changed the world”–could have been
brought about only by powerful leaders: Nixon himself, a
great strategist and a flawed human being, and Mao, willful
and ruthless. They were assisted by two brilliant and
complex statesmen, Henry Kissinger and Chou En-lai.
Surrounding them were fascinating people with unusual roles
to play, including the enormously disciplined and unhappy
Pat Nixon and a small-time Shanghai actress turned
monstrous empress, Jiang Qing. And behind all of them lay
the complex history of two countries, two great and equally
confident civilizations: China, ancient and contemptuous
yet fearful of barbarians beyond the Middle Kingdom, and
the United States, forward-looking and confident, seeing
itself as the beacon for the world. Nixon thought China could help him get out of Vietnam. Mao
needed American technology and expertise to repair the
damage of the Cultural Revolution. Both men wanted an ally
against an aggressive Soviet Union. Did they get what they
wanted? Did Mao betray his own revolutionary ideals? How
did the people of China react to this apparent change in
attitude toward the imperialist Americans? Did Nixon make a
mistake in coming to China as a supplicant? And what has
been the impact of the visit on the United States ever
since? Weaving together fascinating anecdotes and insights, an
understanding of Chinese and American history, and the
momentous events of an extraordinary time, this brilliantly
written book looks at one of the transformative moments of
the twentieth century and casts new light on a key
relationship for the world of the twenty-first century.
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