Chasing the Dragon : A Veteran Journalist's Firsthand Account of the 1949 Chinese Revolution

Rating:
Summary: Witnessing China's Revolutuon
Review: In "Chasing the Dragon," veteran journalist Roy Rowan relives his coverage of the final battles of the Chinese civil war and the victory of Mao Zedong's Communist army over Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists. It was a climactic chapter in world history that launched the author's distinguished career.

He reported on the bloody siege of Mukden, Manchuria, the million-man battle of Xuzhou and the fall of Shanghai, momentous events that few foreign correspondents covered. Though a young man, Rowan was already a seasoned China hand, having directed truck convoys for the China National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, the regional counterpart of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. In that capacity, he had seen the corruption of the Nationalists, which later prompted President Truman to say, "Chiang Kai-shek's downfall was his own making. His generals surrendered the equipment we gave him to the Commies, who then used the arms and ammunition to destroy him."

Rowan was not, in his words, "a do-gooder out to save the starving Chinese" but a man hoping to find "exciting stories to write about as a freelance journalist." His freelancing paid off. A picture story he sent to his literary agent in New York was published in Life, and the magazine hired him to cover the war.

After the Communist takeover, Mao "slammed down the Bamboo Curtain," Rowan writes, "closing the vast land to all Americans but a few Communist sympathizers, just as his mentors in the Kremlin had done with the Iron Curtain." Rowan then moved the Time-Life bureau from Shanghai to Hong Kong. He went on to cover the Cold War in Europe, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He returned to China in 1973 and visited several more times to report on the results of burgeoning capitalism there.

This is a revealing book about stirring events that led to the rise of contemporary China. I highly recommenbd it.

Norman Ritter, journalist and corporate communications consultant




Rating:
Summary: Accolades
Review: This book has received great reviews from Smithsonian magazine, People magazine, and Time magazine. See my web site: www.royrowan.com

Rating:
Summary: Interesting read from veteran journalist
Review: This firsthand account of the fall of China to the Communists is quite engaging. The first half of the book drags a bit, but it picks up as the Communists begins to encircle the Nationalists. The author retreats with the Nationalists Army, from Beijing to Shanghai, and it's always interesting to get the perspective of the loser. Much like the fall of Saigon, the author conveys the dichotomy of panic and denial as the enemy inevitably marches towards the city. The epilogue provided a satisfying conclusion as the author revisits his old haunts.