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Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Built up as the first comprehensive English language biography of Chiang in a quarter century, Fenby's book does little to further our collective understanding of this complex and important political and military leader. Fenby's goal seems not to have been to carry out an informative and critical analysis of Chiang's career, but rather to tell Chiang's story as a novelist would. As a result, the book focuses too often on peripheral details and amusing vignettes that ultimately have little to do with the Generalissimo himself. To Fenby's credit, this book is well-researched and very well written. However, for the student looking to gain penetrating insight into Chiang Kai-Shek as a leader, this book will prove to be greatly lacking.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally a tale of the General
Review: Chiang Kai Shek was one of the worlds longest serving leaders in the 20th century. From the early 1920s he consolidated China under his military rule and defeated the warlords who had sprung up under Sun Yat Sun. Chiang went on to fight the Japanese as they invaded China and unleashed genocide against the Chinese people in cities like Nanking. This wonderful book finally bring Chiang to life. Few biographies exist of this important 20th century leader and even fewer biographies do him any justice. This Book tells the story in full. From the collapse of China in 1949 to Chiangs defiant stand in Taiwan where he widdled his nation into the U.N and garnered support from America. A very important study of an important leader, not to be missed by anyone interested in Taiwan, China or Cold War politicians.
Rating:
Summary: Finally a tale of the General
Review: Chiang Kai Shek was one of the worlds longest serving leaders in the 20th century. From the early 1920s he consolidated China under his military rule and defeated the warlords who had sprung up under Sun Yat Sun. Chiang went on to fight the Japanese as they invaded China and unleashed genocide against the Chinese people in cities like Nanking. This wonderful book finally bring Chiang to life. Few biographies exist of this important 20th century leader and even fewer biographies do him any justice. This Book tells the story in full. From the collapse of China in 1949 to Chiangs defiant stand in Taiwan where he widdled his nation into the U.N and garnered support from America. A very important study of an important leader, not to be missed by anyone interested in Taiwan, China or Cold War politicians.
Rating: 
Summary: Hopes betrayed
Review: Fenby's remarkable biography pulls no punches. CKS, so promising at the start, and so brave when he is kidnapped (told at the start of the book), turns out to be like all dictators: all send and no receive. Fenby opens the book with the kidnapping and this gets us off to an exciting start with our sympathies firmly in the CKS camp. But the apalling relationship with Stilwell and the failure to take advantage of the ending of the war against the Japanese show him in his true light; a great man of his time but time moved on and left him behind.
Fenby's book is full of fascinating detail. Even though I had recently read Tuchman's "Stilwell", his portrait of the relationship with CKS brought out new shading and gossip. Meiling also is portayed in a new and more mysterious light.
A great read for anyone who wants to understand why modern China is so thoroughly confused about its past.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, a modern biography of Chiang Kai-Shek
Review: I have been waiting for this book for a long time. Not particularly this book, but any modern updated biography of Chiang Kai Shek. In recent years we have gotten updated biographies of Mao and Ho Chi Minh and now finally Chiang Kai-Shek.First and foremost, this is a well written, well researched book. It is easy to read and never boring. So on that sense it is a good biography. The book also has some great pictures and good maps at the beginning of the book. The book does a terrific job showing the politics going on in China between 1911 and 1945. The books strongest points about Chiang Kai-Shek are on his battles against the warlords and desires to eliminate the communists. I also felt the book did a great job discussing his wife, and her famous family the Soongs. That being said, I felt the book was weak in its overall assessment of Chiang Kai-Shek. I got the impression that the author really did not want to make any strong judgements about Chiang Kai Shek. He does not hold back any facts, but just does not make strong judgements. However, the author is highly critical of Sun Yatsen, and General Stillwell. Two great men in history, this author is not afraid to judge, but Chiang Kai Shek he does not. Sun Yatsen was a great leader and had such a vision for China, but Fenby is highly critical of him. Stillwell was exactly right on how Chiang Kai-Shek would lose China and was dead on in his assessment of KMT corruption. Instead, Fenby is critical of Stillwell. For a better look at Stillwell look at the Recent book on the Burma Road. Also, I was surprized at how rushed the author gets at the end on the ultimate Communist victory. Fenby is great in discussing the Marshall visit and attempt to broker a peace, but his description of the Nationalist collapse and retreat to Taiwan was rushed in my opinion. Also, there is little to no information about Chiang Kai Shek on Taiwan. But I am being picky. I enjoyed this book very much and am glad Fenby wrote it. Had Chiang Kai Shek been a better leader the history of Asia and the world would be very different.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, a modern biography of Chiang Kai-Shek
Review: I have been waiting for this book for a long time. Not particularly this book, but any modern updated biography of Chiang Kai Shek. In recent years we have gotten updated biographies of Mao and Ho Chi Minh and now finally Chiang Kai-Shek. First and foremost, this is a well written, well researched book. It is easy to read and never boring. So on that sense it is a good biography. The book also has some great pictures and good maps at the beginning of the book. The book does a terrific job showing the politics going on in China between 1911 and 1945. The books strongest points about Chiang Kai-Shek are on his battles against the warlords and desires to eliminate the communists. I also felt the book did a great job discussing his wife, and her famous family the Soongs. That being said, I felt the book was weak in its overall assessment of Chiang Kai-Shek. I got the impression that the author really did not want to make any strong judgements about Chiang Kai Shek. He does not hold back any facts, but just does not make strong judgements. However, the author is highly critical of Sun Yatsen, and General Stillwell. Two great men in history, this author is not afraid to judge, but Chiang Kai Shek he does not. Sun Yatsen was a great leader and had such a vision for China, but Fenby is highly critical of him. Stillwell was exactly right on how Chiang Kai-Shek would lose China and was dead on in his assessment of KMT corruption. Instead, Fenby is critical of Stillwell. For a better look at Stillwell look at the Recent book on the Burma Road. Also, I was surprized at how rushed the author gets at the end on the ultimate Communist victory. Fenby is great in discussing the Marshall visit and attempt to broker a peace, but his description of the Nationalist collapse and retreat to Taiwan was rushed in my opinion. Also, there is little to no information about Chiang Kai Shek on Taiwan. But I am being picky. I enjoyed this book very much and am glad Fenby wrote it. Had Chiang Kai Shek been a better leader the history of Asia and the world would be very different.
Rating: 
Summary: Mainly an Assembly of Newspaper Clippings
Review: It is sad to see how quickly a 'biography' can be stuck together from 1001 sources, mainly newpapers of time time. And then it is published and proclaimed meaningful. Mr. Fenby picked a fascinating personality for his analysis of China from the 1920s to the 1970s. The flavor of the era is there. But very little is conveyed about the personality of Chang Kai-shek, his unique strength of character, thrift, shrewdness applied to a particularely chaotic period. I bought he book being interested in the personality but found little which I did not already know. The author comes over as a typical Westerner pretending to be an expert of a country and a culture which is far more complex than assumed. To depict CKC as mainly a dictator also misses the mark. To create order out of the chaos of the 20s in China represented a major achievement. The fact that CKC liked to micro-manage and suffered from excessive influence by wife, son and others also is hardly touched upon. In sum: I could have skipped this order.
NDG.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This is a fascinating and very readable story about an extraordinary man living in one of the most exciting periods of history in the 20th century, with lots of adventurous passages and some amazing characters like the warlords and the drug Godfathers and Madame Chiang who just died at a very old age. The information about Chiang's private life is really quite scandalous!
Apart from that, what made it an important book for myself was three elements:
1. The chapters telling, for the first time in my experience in such vivid depth, just how Japan behaved in China between 1931 and 1945. The descriptions of what the Army did in China make this an important historical document.
2.In the context of the current situation in Iraq, the account of US involvement in China has major significant lessons for today.
3. Given China's emergence as a superpower in the next few years, this is the first book I have seen which tells readers what happened before the Communists won power - and draws quite important parallels between the past and the present from which I drew interesting lessons to analyze what China is becoming.
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