Henry R. Luce, Time, and the American Crusade in Asia
Henry R. Luce, <I>Time</I>, and the American Crusade in Asia
$41.99
USDThis book shows how Henry Robinson Luce used his famous magazines to advance his interventionist agenda in Cold War China, Korea, Japan, and above all, Vietnam. This is the first balanced work on Luce and his influence, using hitherto undiscovered or inaccessible sources. Luce saw the American Century as the heir to the fading British Empire; he failed to see the hubris and cultural blindness that would lead to disaster in Vietnam - a disaster for which his magazines paved the way.
- The first scholarly account of a great figure in American history and the American media. This includes his Republican politics, his media, and his philanthropic work
- First account of how Luce edited and changed incoming cables so as to give his millions of readers the 'right' spin on crucial Cold War issues
- First account of how Luce's intense, crabbed, brusque personality impacted his work and his political obsessions
Reviews & endorsements
"For sheer density of material...and for insights into the relationship between journalism and high policy, this book is very informative. I recommend it to anyone interested in U.S.-Asian relations during the early Cold war years." New York Sun, John Derbyshire
"Herzstein is a historian who writes like a brilliant journalist, and a scholar whose occasional partiality never detracts from his innate fairness. His very readable new work on Luce...is a valuable, colorful contribution to modern history." The New Leader, Valentin Chu
"Herzstein's evaluation of Luce's accomplishments and shortcomings is judicious and balanced." - Qiang Zhai, Auburn University Montgomery
Product details
October 2006Paperback
9780521543682
366 pages
227 × 143 × 24 mm
0.479kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I. From the American Century to the Cold War:
- 1. Henry Luce and China: prelude to an American crusade
- 2. Learning to market Chiang's China
- 3. Bitter victory
- 4. China on the brink: what role for America?
- Part II. Luce and the 'Loss' of China:
- 5. Cold war strategy: allies and enemies in the battle for China
- 6. Losing China: the hunt for culprits intensifies
- 7. Anti-communist allies in Asia: MacArthur and Rhee
- 8. McCarthy and Korea: crises and opportunities
- 9. The campaign for a wider war in Asia
- 10. Electing Eisenhower while fighting McCarthy
- Part III. Time Inc., Eisenhower, and Asian Policy, 1952–9:
- 11. Unwelcome moderation: Eisenhower's caution in East Asia
- 12. Keeping the pressure on Mao and Ho
- Part IV. Time, Luce, and the looming disaster in Vietnam, 1960–7:
- 13. Time Inc. and nation-making in Vietnam: from Kennedy to Johnson
- 14. Troubled crusade in Vietnam
- 15. The final years of Henry Luce's mission to Asia.
