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China reporting : an oral history of American journalism in the 1930s and 1940s / Stephen R. MacKinnon and Oris Friesen.

By: MacKinnon, Stephen R.
Contributor(s): Friesen, Oris.
Material type: TextTextPublisher: Berkeley : University of California Press, c1987Description: xxx, 230 p., [8] p. of plates : ill. ; 22 cm.ISBN: 0520058437 (alk. paper); 9780520058439 (alk. paper).Subject(s): Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945 -- Foreign public opinion, American | China -- History -- Civil War, 1945-1949 -- Foreign public opinion, American | Foreign correspondents -- United States | Foreign correspondents -- China | China American foreign correspondents, 1930-1950 - BiographiesDDC classification: 940.53 Other classification: 15.75 | 05.33 | RR 69977
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Item type Current location Call number Status Date due Barcode
Book University of Texas At Tyler
Stacks - 3rd Floor 		DS777.533.P825 U65 1987 (Browse shelf) Available 0000000387365

Bibliography: p. 215-218.

Includes index.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

In 1982, ``old China hands'' met with select scholars to discuss American journalism in China during the 1930s and 1940s. This book is the final product of that convocation, and is an example of excellent oral history. It is lively, combining primary sources and the historical perspective provided by MacKinnon and Friesen. It is also a daunting book. Journalism both reflects and shapes society's perceptions of the world. Insights gleaned from these former China correspondents highlights this duality. Ultimately, the reader is hard pressed not to conclude that reporters in China, in the words of John King Fairbank, ``all tried, but we failed. Everybody here participated in one of the greatest failures in history.'' This tragedy is compounded by the fact that the failure continues because today's coverage of China is ``highly homogeneous. ... Much attention continues to be paid to the exotic and to the inscrutability of Chinese politics.'' Specialists will be familiar with the context, the issues, and some of the commentary provided by the journalists. Novices will find the book rewarding, especially after digesting a more general treatment of China-US relations during those decades, such as Michael Schaller's The U.S. Crusade in China, 1938-1945, (CH, Jun '79). There is a ``cast of characters,'' a chronology, a glossary, and a short bibliography. Recommended for all libraries.-E. Clausen, Pacific Lutheran University

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