Shanghai fury : Australian heroes of revolutionary China

With consummate skill, military historian Peter Thompson provides a panoramic view of the Chinese Revolution from its turbulent origins in the Taiping Rebellion against the Manchu Dynasty to its violent aftermath in the monumental battles between Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Tse-tung, and the Japanese armed forces. The author combines personal memories with combat action to produce a gripping narrative of extraordinary power and depth which brings the history of modern China to life in a single volume not to be bettered in a generation. Shanghai Fury spans the century between the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 and the declaration of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, one hundred years of foreign domination, revolution, invasion, occupation and civil war. ‘This highly readable history set chiefly in the rambunctious, international city of Shanghai between the first Opium War of 1840 and the declaration of the People's Republic in 1949. He cleverly, and with few signs of the intricate stitching required, weaves his Australian dramatis personae into the wild story of China's travails...’ The third in the 'Fury' trilogy, following on from the bestsellers Pacific Furyand Anzac Fury. Shanghai is a city defined by war. The city and its armed struggles were central to the relationship between China and Australia from the fall of the Manchus in 1912 to the Communist victory in 1949. Yet with the notable exception of George 'Chinese' Morrison, the Australian contribution has been largely neglected and no single volume covers the experiences of the many remarkable Australians caught up in the drama. Set against a backdrop of imperial splendour and abject squalor, Shanghai Furyexamines one of the seminal periods of the 20th Century in a compellingly readable narrative that mixes personal memoir with combat action to complete a powerful trilogy on Australians at war. Shanghai is a city defined by war. The city and its armed struggles were central to the relationship between China and Australia from the fall of the Manchus in 1912 to the Communist victory in 1949. Yet with the notable exception of George "Chinese" Morrison, the Australian contribution has been largely neglected and no single volume covers the experiences of the many remarkable Australians caught up in the drama. Set against a backdrop of imperial splendor and abject squalor,this bookexamines one of the seminal periods of the 20th Century in a compellingly readable narrative that mixes personal memoir with combat action to complete a powerful trilogy on Australians at war.