Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History

(Hardback)

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Tracking the evolution of the Red Army through the war against Japan and the Chinese civil war, Wortzel's book provides a comprehensive basic reference focusing on the major events, people, and issues that have produced the historical legacy of the People's Liberation Army. Placing contemporary Chinese military history in the context of China's 19th century clashes with the West and Japan, Wortzel illustrates how the imposition of unequal treaties by foreign powers conditioned China's 20th century defense forces and actions and explains how the Communist military forces developed. It also shows how fractionalization in the Communist military leadership led to the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong's purges. Drawing on a substantial number of sources available only in Chinese as well as on English-language secondary sources, the book provides a basic reference aimed at orienting the nonspecialist to the significant events and people in China's recent military history. The book will also provide a quick reference for the specialist in Chinese history.

Reviews

.,."this read reference is a welcome resource for students of contemporary China."-Parameters
...this read reference is a welcome resource for students of contemporary China.-Parameters
The Dictionary of Chinese Military History is the only English-language dictionary or one-volume encyclopedia of its kind....suitable for any library collecting Chinese military or political history.-RUSQ
This dictionary on the recent military history of China is a useful reference tool for the study of contemporary China.-American Reference Books Annual
..."this read reference is a welcome resource for students of contemporary China."-Parameters
"This dictionary on the recent military history of China is a useful reference tool for the study of contemporary China."-American Reference Books Annual
"The Dictionary of Chinese Military History is the only English-language dictionary or one-volume encyclopedia of its kind....suitable for any library collecting Chinese military or political history."-RUSQ

Author Bio

LARRY M. WORTZEL is a Colonel in the United States Army and a military intelligence officer, currently director of the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, PA. His earlier books include Class in China: Stratification in a Classless Society (Greenwood, 1987) and China's Military Modernization: International Implications (Greenwood, 1988). He has served as the U.S. Army Attache at the American Embassy in Beijing, as an analyst of military affairs in China for the U.S. Pacific Command, and as a strategist for Asia in the Department of the Army Headquarters.