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Rating: 
Summary: A personalized history of the Far East
Review:
Lilley was born in Tsingtao, China, on the Shandong peninsula. He uses the old English spelling, rather than the new one, which the Chinese, who speak their own tongue and use characters instead of our alphabet, have instructed us to use today: Qingdao. I spent the entire year of 1948 in Tsingtao. That spelling is closer to the natives' pronunciation: Ching-taw. How they arrive at that from Qingdao is a mystery to me. Perhaps, in time, we will tell them what characters in their calligraphy they should use to "spell" our cities.
Lilley was the son of a Standard Oil Company of New York (SOCONY) salesman, selling "oil for the lamps of China". He attended College at Yale, where he was recruited into the CIA, and later into the State Department. He has been posted to Laos, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taiwan, mostly as an agent of the CIA. He has been ambassador to China, as well. When he was a young man, he did not speak Chinese. He was raised, as were most foreign people in China, in a sequestered situation--usually a walled compound with broken glass on top of the wall for security. I've been in similar compounds. The Mandarin dialect spoken in Tsingtao by foreigners, including servicemen, was pidgin English. Riding in rickshaws is about as close as most of us got to Chinese customs. When I think of China, I think of scenes in the movie, The Sand Pebbles, a depiction of a Yangtse gunboat. Tsingtao, though, was more Westernized. They still sell a German beer made there, brewed by Chinese, now, but originally German: Tsingtao Beer. It is one of their leading exports. Spending time in China--even a considerable amount of time--did not make us knowledgeable about their customs, as he points out. I saw much of the Chinese people in the year I spent there with the U.S. Marine Corps (I was in naval aviation). While I was fascinated with the people and their customs, I never felt that I knew them. I knew the Japanese better, though I spent the same amount of time there. They are more like we Westerners in many of their customs. The Chinese have more of a sing song cadence to their speech patterns. Japanese is easier to learn. Lilley spends much of the first few chapters of his book describing his brother, Frank, who was manic-depressive (bi-polar), apparently. He committed suicide, a not uncommon result of that affliction, which frequently strikes the most intelligent, most promising among us. Two of my younger brothers met the same fate. I can sympathize. My greatest problem with this book was no fault of the author. He simply was not in Tsingtao while I was there, and did not therefore discuss our chaotic conditions when the "Bahloo" (Communists) took over and kicked us out of the country. They told us our lease was up. Since he was not there, he did not see the communist soldiers come onto the Marine Corps Air Facility from Tsang-Ko (a walled town bordering the air base), as I did, and shoot the Chinese employees we had just paid off with sugar and flour. We were armed, but could not shoot back. It was not our war. It was the beginning of my hatred for communism. There is much talk of how China "needed" the "Agrarian Reformers" (communists) in this book. His father was apparently of that opinion. I think Lilley was not. I hope not. Much of the actual events of that time, the ascendancy of Mao Tse-Tung and the rise of his power, as the result of the activities of our State Departments activities (through the person of John Service and others) led to our loss of presence in China. We were sold out, as in Yugoslavia, Cuba and a half-dozen other places where we backed other communists against people like General Draja Mikhailovitch of Yugoslavia whose Chetniks saved hundreds of our flyers who were shot down, and was executed by Josep Tito's Partisans, against the protests of people like Sen. Joseph McCarthy who has since been so reviled. And today the brainbwashed majority buy it! Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)
Rating:
Summary: A personalized history of the Far East
Review:
Lilley was born in Tsingtao, China, on the Shandong peninsula. He uses the old English spelling, rather than the new one, which the Chinese, who speak their own tongue and use characters instead of our alphabet, have instructed us to use today: Qingdao. I spent the entire year of 1948 in Tsingtao. That spelling is closer to the natives' pronunciation: Ching-taw. How they arrive at that from Qingdao is a mystery to me. Perhaps, in time, we will tell them what characters in their calligraphy they should use to "spell" our cities.
Lilley was the son of a Standard Oil Company of New York (SOCONY) salesman, selling "oil for the lamps of China". He attended College at Yale, where he was recruited into the CIA, and later into the State Department. He has been posted to Laos, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taiwan, mostly as an agent of the CIA. He has been ambassador to China, as well. When he was a young man, he did not speak Chinese. He was raised, as were most foreign people in China, in a sequestered situation--usually a walled compound with broken glass on top of the wall for security. I've been in similar compounds. The Mandarin dialect spoken in Tsingtao by foreigners, including servicemen, was pidgin English. Riding in rickshaws is about as close as most of us got to Chinese customs. When I think of China, I think of scenes in the movie, The Sand Pebbles, a depiction of a Yangtse gunboat. Tsingtao, though, was more Westernized. They still sell a German beer made there, brewed by Chinese, now, but originally German: Tsingtao Beer. It is one of their leading exports. Spending time in China--even a considerable amount of time--did not make us knowledgeable about their customs, as he points out. I saw much of the Chinese people in the year I spent there with the U.S. Marine Corps (I was in naval aviation). While I was fascinated with the people and their customs, I never felt that I knew them. I knew the Japanese better, though I spent the same amount of time there. They are more like we Westerners in many of their customs. The Chinese have more of a sing song cadence to their speech patterns. Japanese is easier to learn. Lilley spends much of the first few chapters of his book describing his brother, Frank, who was manic-depressive (bi-polar), apparently. He committed suicide, a not uncommon result of that affliction, which frequently strikes the most intelligent, most promising among us. Two of my younger brothers met the same fate. I can sympathize. My greatest problem with this book was no fault of the author. He simply was not in Tsingtao while I was there, and did not therefore discuss our chaotic conditions when the "Bahloo" (Communists) took over and kicked us out of the country. They told us our lease was up. Since he was not there, he did not see the communist soldiers come onto the Marine Corps Air Facility from Tsang-Ko (a walled town bordering the air base), as I did, and shoot the Chinese employees we had just paid off with sugar and flour. We were armed, but could not shoot back. It was not our war. It was the beginning of my hatred for communism. There is much talk of how China "needed" the "Agrarian Reformers" (communists) in this book. His father was apparently of that opinion. I think Lilley was not. I hope not. Much of the actual events of that time, the ascendancy of Mao Tse-Tung and the rise of his power, as the result of the activities of our State Departments activities (through the person of John Service and others) led to our loss of presence in China. We were sold out, as in Yugoslavia, Cuba and a half-dozen other places where we backed other communists against people like General Draja Mikhailovitch of Yugoslavia whose Chetniks saved hundreds of our flyers who were shot down, and was executed by Josep Tito's Partisans, against the protests of people like Sen. Joseph McCarthy who has since been so reviled. And today the brainbwashed majority buy it! Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)
Rating: 
Summary: Inside the Storm
Review: Ambassador Jim Lilley is one of a very small set of children who grew up in pre-Mao China. Unlike most of them who were missionary kids, Lilley was the son of a prominent businessman. Those tumultuous early years formed the moral core of his character which served him in excellent stead throughout his adult career. Throughout a life that spanned revolution, war and terror, Jim Lilley has remained faithful to his ideals, his country and his family. This book reflects the extraordinary breath and depth of his experience, always filtered through his confidence of knowing what was the proper thing to do in situations that were often confusing and challenging.
Jim Lilley always drew the tough assignments. He served during the fractious days of war in Indochina while a CIA employee, under the intense limelight of the Seoul Olympics, through a painful democratization process in South Korea, and during the brutality of the Tienamin Square crackdown by Chinese forces. Regardless of the challenges he has always represented himself and his country faithfully and well. He was a cerebral and consummate diplomat and a tough, loyal soldier. His deeds shine from the pages despite the self-effacing tone with which he writes.
This book is a great read. Whether you are a student of Asia or simply trying to get your arms around a difficult but most critical area of the world, you need to have Lilley's book. It is written with style and grace, and includes drama, tragedy and humor. This is a book you will want to keep on your shelf and recommend to friends. Buy it today; you'll be glad you did.
Rating: 
Summary: China Hand
Review: I have traveled to China and am fascinated by the country. I looked forward to this book and as I started to read it, the bginning fulfilled all my ideas of the early twentieth century in China, tidbits about living there and the white russians. I eagerly read and then realized that the book had lost it's potential. I am sorry that the author's two brothers had lost their way and even more sorry that his oldest brother committed suicide but I lost all desire to read the book. It is almost like he is still coming to terms with the death. ANytime some relative does something that drastic, it is traumatizing but after a while it became less about China and more about life outside China. Of course that is where I stopped reading so I didn't know if he got back on course. Still I would have hoped that the actual life in China as a child would be more interesting. What about his sister and what it was like for a girl born in the 1920's in China? It seems Frank was the only one who mattered and the suthor's sister is bearly a footnote.
Did the family learn Chinese or not? Did they live in an isoltaed european word or did they take in the chinese atmosphere, description of housing, clothing, a read feell for China would have been a better read than all the non-chinese sections
Rating:
Summary: Great story by a great man during great times
Review: James and Jeffrey Lilley are extraordinary people who lived in extraordinary places. This fascinating book will allow the dreamer of the Far East to meet and to come to terms with a world that is truly magnificient.
Through this book they allow us to travel with them to South East Asia and relive history through Vietman, Laos, South Korea and China. Only a true China hand has the ability, through his writing, to allow and introduce the readers to such a wonderful historical journey.
This book brings together history, customs, Asian civilization, politics and human emotions all important factors to understanding this crucial part of the world.
It is a great and easy read and will push the reader into wanting more information, and ultimatly to travel to Asia.
Thank you Mr. Lilley for a great book and for sharing with us your extraordinary life.
Rating:
Summary: interesting mainly to certain readers
Review: Lilley is an impressive man whose life took him to interesting places and important events. However, this book is probably most suitable for those with a serious, even scholarly, interest in modern Asian history or similar fields. Parts of the book on growing up in pre-WW II China, on service with the CIA in Laos during the war in Viet Nam (but no derring-do for you spy fans), on political events in Korea and China in the 1980's--all these will be of interest. One minor surprise for me was that Lilley, after spending his childhood in China, could only speak a little 'street Chinese' he learned from his 'ama' and had to actually learn the language in the US.
Unfortunately for me, between these parts are prolonged intervals of almost diary-like, detailed accounts of diplomatic dealings, meetings, memos, conversations, personal and family life, etc that markedly dulled the book for me. Also, as Lilley says, it is indeed a personal memoir, so there is a lot about his family and, most especially, his older brother who clearly had a huge and, unfortunately, saddening influence on him. So much so that much of the first section of the book centers around the remarkable but flawed brother rather than the author, who then returns to this topic several times later on, quoting repeatedly from the brother's letters and diaries. If you are interested in foreign affairs, you'll like reading of the famous events the author witnessed, even played a role in, but I found that much of the book dragged through excessive detail that will bore all but serious diplomacy buffs. I respect the author's grief over his beloved brother but found it much too personal for my own enjoyment.
Rating: 
Summary: Breezy, Troubling
Review: Lilley's tale of a life begun within a prostated China of the 1930's reads well to the eye but uneasy on reflection. As son of an American oil man Lilley lived a privileged life amidst a devestated society. Following his older brother to Yale Lilley learned a different path. Rather than questioning the troubling issues of post WWII American power Lilley embraced a real politic view and joined the Yale/CIA connection that grew at this time. After stints practicing his operational craft in Japan, Korea and Cambodia Lilley landed in the backwater of Laos in the mid 1960's. Hear Lilley casually describes the growing engagement with the North Vietnamese as the war spills over the border and covert activities become overt. With few details Lilley gives the picture of the CIA trying hard to find motivated locals to fight. Not much reflection upon the Vietnam war which tore apart the country and American political society political. The narrative moves ahead to the Nixon breakthrough in relations with China. Here Lilley's historical claims of relevancy and assiduously developed relationships begin to come into play. With Lilley's posting in Taiwan and Hong Kong he becomes facile to the barriers of viable intelligence within China. After a period home he becomes an unwitting ally of Kissinger in his efforts to circumvent the state department and engineer high states, high level diplomacy with the PRC. This begins an ongoing saga of conflict between the two contesting China foreign policy camps. During the Ford administration Lilley begins to cultivate a relationship with fellow Yaley George H. Bush as he became head of the CIA and later ambassador to China. This partisan republican association is emphasized by how Lilley much he makes of one incident during the Carter administration. In moving toward recognition of the PRC, following Kissinger's modus op, Brzezinski operated under established organizational rader screens and additionally left Taiwan out of the loop. The outcome was a congressional statute that reigned in normalization to include Taiwan armament and security concerns. This event though pales in comparison to the bumbling that occured with the entry of the Reagan administration to the PRC issue. Here Lilley seems to show that Bush and fellow travelers like Wolfowitz turn the tide and save Reagan policy towards a 'balanced' approach. The book culminates with Lilley's assumption to his career peak as ambassador during he tragic crackdown of Tiananmen Square. Again Lilley's lessons of accommodation, this time primarily to the realities of vast commericial interests seem to govern his world view of future China/American relations. Overall the light and easily going narrative reveal beneath the lines troubling questions of American power and the use of intelligence in our foriegn policy.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating autobiography
Review: The first thing to make clear is that this is, first of all, an autobiography. While it provides an interesting insight into the life of a CIA agent who later became a diplomat, it does not provide a comprehensive historical account of the political events mentioned in the book. So, historians may feel that this book is incomplete but may still find this book interesting as it inevitably presents a different perspective from other books.
James Lilley was born and raised in China while his father, who worked for an American oil company, was assigned to its China office, so he had an interest in China from childhood. Throughout the book, it is clear that James belongs to a close-knit family. It is possible that you may find too many early chapters devoted to his childhood and the eventual suicide of one of his brothers. You can, of course, skip these chapters but they help to set the context for James' career.
His career took him to a number of Asian countries, originally as a CIA agent but later as a diplomat. He was USA representative to Taiwan in the early eighties, USA Ambassador to Korea in the mid-eighties and USA Ambassador to China during the late eighties. His account of the troubles in Tiananmen Square is therefore particularly interesting, as is his perspective on relations between China, America and Taiwan - a very complex issue.
In his earlier career with the CIA, James explains the difficulty of working there during the fifties and sixties, when China was all but closed to the outside world. He also acknowledges the importance of Richard Nixon in breaking the ice between America and China, though he correctly points out that deteriorating Chinese relations with the Soviet Union made Nixon's task easier than it would otherwise have been.
In the mid seventies, he met George Bush (Senior), who also worked for the CIA at the time, thus establishing what would become an important working relationship, ultimately leading to James' appointment as Ambassador to China by George, when he eventually became President.
If you enjoy biography with some politics and history added into the mix, you will surely enjoy this. If you are really only interested in the history and politics, you may find other books that suit you better.
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