The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom America and China, 1776 to the Present

A narrative account of the relationship between the U.S. and China from the Revolutionary War to the present day

Our relationship with China remains one of the most complex and rapidly evolving, and is perhaps one of the most important to our nation's future. In The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom, John Pomfret, the author of the bestselling Chinese Lessons, takes us deep into these two countries' shared history, and illuminates in vibrant, stunning detail every major event, relationship, and ongoing development that has affected diplomacy between these two booming, influential nations. We meet early American missionaries and chart their influence in China, and follow a group of young Chinese students who enroll in American universities, eager to soak up Western traditions. We witness firsthand major and devastating events like the Boxer Rebellion, and the rise of Mao. We examine both nations' involvement in world events, such as World War I and II. Pomfret takes the myriad historical milestones of two of the world's most powerful nations and turns them into one fluid, fascinating story, leaving us with a nuanced understanding of where these two nations stand in relation to one another, and the rest of the world.

John Pomfret served as a correspondent for the Washington Post for many years, and is currently on a Fulbright Senior Scholar's grant, living in Beijing. He is the author of the acclaimed book, Chinese Lessons, and has won several awards for his coverage of Asia, including the Osborne Elliot Prize. He holds a BA and MA from Stanford University and was one of the first American students to go to China and study at Nanjing University, and attended Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies as a Fulbright Scholar.