The Devil Soldier : The American Soldier of Fortune Who Became a God in China

The American Soldier of Fortune Who Became a God in China... A courageous leader who became the first American mandarin, Frederick Townsend Ward won crucial victories for the Emperor of China during the Taiping Rebellion, history's bloodiest civil war. Carr's skills as historian and storyteller come to the fore in this thrilling account of the kind of adventurer the world no longer sees. Photographs.

a Courageous Leader Who Became The First American Mandarin, Frederick Townsend Ward Won Crucial Victories For The Emperor Of China During The Taiping Rebellion, History's ...

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with Yankee Self-reliance, Penniless Soldier-of-fortune Frederick Townsend Ward (1831-1862) From Salem, Mass., Made Himself Indispensable To China's Manchu Dynasty In Its Bloody Crushing Of The Taiping Rebellion Of 1859. Assembling And Commanding A Highly Disciplined Army Of Native Chinese Soldiers In Shanghai, Ward Was Officially Made A Mandarin By China's Rulers. ``in Every Sense A Free-lance''--a Questioner Of Authority, Military Doctrine And Even Of National Loyalty--he Became A Chinese Citizen And In 1862 Married Yang Chang-mei, Daughter Of His Most Loyal Backer. He Died In Battle The Same Year; His Wife Survived Him By Just One Year, Apparently Dying Of ``extreme Grief.'' In This Sympathetic, Solid Biography, Carr ( Casing The Promised Land ) Focuses On Political And Diplomatic History, Portraying The Adaptable Mercenary As A Harbinger Of Later Efforts To Open China To Western Assistance. (aug.)

“So marvelously improbable, so rich in exotic detail, that if often reads more like a historical thriller than the serious work of history that it is.”—Los Angeles TimesWith the same flair for history and narrative that distinguished his bestseller, The Alienist, Caleb Carr tells the incredible story of Frederick Townsend Ward, the American mercenary who fought for the emperor of China in the Taiping rebellion, history's bloodiest civil war. The Devil Soldier is a thrilling, masterfully researched biography of the kind of adventurer the world no longer sees.Praise for The Devil Soldier“If ever a book of history were made for the movies, Caleb Carr's The Devil Soldier is it.”—Chicago Tribune“Good, thorough, scholarly but absorbing.”—Edward Rice, author of Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton This book tells the tale of American mercenary, Frederick Townsend Ward. A courageous leader who became the first American mandarin, Ward won crucial victories for the Emperor of China during the Taiping Rebellion, history's bloodiest civil war On May 2, 1860, the city of Nanking, China-nestled between a wide bend in the Yangtze River and a commanding promontory called Purple Mountain-was alive with celebration.