[.ca] Nixon In China (ISBN 0143015591)

A Defining Moment in Modern Times:
The historian Margaret MacMillan's "Nixon in China" is a truly remarkable account of what goes into making a pivotal moment in time a part of history. What we usually get to see in respect to the ceremonial clinching of any historical agreement between two nations, such as Nixon and Mao shaking hands in 1972 in Beijing, involves a lot more than normally meets the collective eye. Big events are generally transitory in nature. A proper interpretation of 'great' events involving 'great' people is that they must be studied in a greater context in order to be understood in history. MacMillan achieves that objective quite well by examining the initial reason for such an improbable meeting of two ideologically-contrasting, though psychologically well-matched leaders, the geopolitical setting for such an encounter, the primary and secondary personnel that made it happen, and consequently how their rapprochement helped to change the course of modern world. Among her main conclusions are: That Nixon first came up with the idea as a way of extricating himeself from the mire of Vietnam, assuring his re-election in 1972 and guaranteeing himself a place in history; that the visit would not likely have happened if it had not been for the ground-breaking work of Kissinger and Chou En-Lai; and the need for the meeting of these two Cold War foes - China and the USA - speaks more to their respective sense of international vulnerability than their sense of power. This book offers some credible insights into the world of international diplomacy, where the hugger-mugger often proceeds the clarification of direction and ultimate truth. Her work also exposes many of the big players, such as Mao, Nixon and Kissinger, as mere mortals on the stage of life, whose moments of vanity in this unfolding drama provide amusing studies in contrast. The reader should pay particular attention to what MacMillan believes this event has lead to in the 21st century. Reading this book should give the reader a firm grasp of how history changes on a dime when the unexpected happens. MacMillan has produced a well-researched and written study that delves into a little-understood part of the modern world: China on the verge of modernizing after the disastrous years of the Cultural Revolution.