This outline of the military and diplomatic history of the Pacific theatre of WWII is of mixed value. In describing the operations of American forces, it is quite good. Thompson describes the main battles in little vignettes, which are well-chosen and well-written. But some of the book touches on China, and in these parts, he depends heavily on the discredited and generally worthless reportage of Edgar Snow, perpetuating myths manufactured by the Communist Party. Thompson believes, like many people once did, that if only Washington had struck a deal with Mao, they would have built a fruitful relationship with him. This is nonsense. Thompson is quite right that General Stillwell’s evaluation of Chiang Kaishek was basically correct. Chiang was insufferably corrupt, and made little serious effort to resist the Japanese, doing only the bare minimum that would ensure the flow of aid. However, if the Nationalists under Chiang did little to fight the Japanese, the Communists under Mao did absolutely nothing. Mao not only had no interest in fighting the Japanese, he had been hoping the Japanese would destroy Chiang and occupy a large part of the country, which would leave the rest of the country in his hands and force Stalin to acknowledge his permanent power. In fact, the Communists’ only known armed exchange with the Japanese was an accidental skirmish, which aroused Mao’s fury. He would have entered into a pact with the Japanese the second it was possible.
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