An Economist Best Book of 2018 New York Times Book Review Editor's Pick

At the end of World War II, General George Marshall took on what he thought was a final mission-this time not to win a war, but to stop one. In China, conflict between Communists and Nationalists threatened to suck in the United States and escalate into revolution. Marshall's charge was to cross the Pacific, broker a peace, and prevent a Communist takeover, all while staving off World War III. At first, the results seemed miraculous. But as they started to come apart, Marshall was faced with a wrenching choice-one that would alter the course of the Cold War, define the US-China relationship, and spark one of the darkest-ever turns in American political life.

The China Mission offers a gripping, close-up view of the central figures of the time-from Marshall, Mao, and Chiang Kai-shek to Eisenhower, Truman, and MacArthur-as they stood face-to-face and struggled to make history, with consequences and lessons that echo today.