Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911–45
Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911–45 is a work of history written by Barbara W. Tuchman and published in 1971 by Macmillan Publishers. It won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. The book was republished in 2001 by Grove Press It was also published under the title Sand Against the Wind: Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911–45 by Macmillan Publishers in 1970. Using the life of Joseph Stilwell, the military attache to China from 1935 to 1939 and commander of United States forces and allied chief of staff to Chiang Kai-shek from 1942 to 1944, this book explores the history of China from the Revolution of 1911 to the turmoil of World War II, when China's Nationalist government faced attack from both Japanese invaders and Communist insurgents. Summary Prologue: The Crisis During the Second World War, the United States Government requested that Lieutenant General Joseph W. Stilwell be placed in command of China's armed forces. Tuchman notes that an American's overseeing an ally's forces was an "unprecedented" arrangement. General Chiang Kai Shek, who was the leader of the Republic of China at the time, expressed his frustration at the request as it was not palatable