Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45
by Barbara Tuchman

Here is the Amazon book description:

Barbara W. Tuchman won the Pulitzer Prize for Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45 in 1972. She uses the life of Joseph Stilwell, the military attache to China in 1935-39 and commander of United States forces and allied chief of staff to Chiang Kai-shek in 1942-44, to explore the history of China from the revolution of 1911 to the turmoil of World War II, when China's Nationalist government faced attack from Japanese invaders and Communist insurgents. Her story is an account of both American relations with China and the experiences of one of our men on the ground. In the cantankerous but level-headed "Vinegar Joe," Tuchman found a subject who allowed her to perform, in the words of The National Review, "one of the historian's most envied magic acts: conjoining a fine biography of a man with a fascinating epic story."

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It's been over 20 years since I went through a Barbara Tuchman binge. (Be sure to check out The March of Folly : From Troy to Vietnam for some insight to today's clusterfuck.) However, I missed this one until the other day I was in a local used book store and found a copy for 40 cents. It is well worth paying the full price. Not only is Stilwell an interesting dude, it gives insight into why China is the way it is. I need to find a good history of China from the Communist takeover. China is becoming increasingly important to us and it behooves us to understand why China is the way it is.

Another very interesting part of this book is the description of the Army from just before WWI to WWII. It is only after WWII that we have maintained a large standing army. Prior to WWII the Army was essentially disbanded to a small core and then built up in wartime. This build-up is one of the things that has made this country the threat to the world that it is. If you have a tool there is a tendancy to use it.

You can get used copies at Alibris