Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World Audiobook

" It isn't quite on the level of "Paris 1919", for one reason: Nixon doesn't usually warrant writing of this calibre, and there's something ironic about a Canadian historian writing the definitive work on a key moment of Cold War detente. "

" Engaging. Informative. Author has a lively style, a knack for describing the various players that seems real, and human. Drawing on extensive sources, this is a must-read for anybody interested in one of the most significant events that utterly changed the geo-political balance of the cold war. "

" I know more than I did before, but the chronological jumping (which only starts after about a third of the book being linear in time) was annoying. Far worse, though, was the repeated references to The China Lobby without any explanation of what it was (Taiwanese ex-pats? hard-core Republicans? both? organized?). Not even one sentence about it, and yet it's thrown about as one of the intense domestic pressures Nixon faced at home. "

" I didn't get very far into this book. I started it, was intrigued, then put it down for long periods of time before picking it up again. The way MacMillan writes is very confusing. She inserts tangents in very random places and follows it with other tangents. She took an interesting topic and overwhelmed it with back stories. I did learn things I didn't know about such figures like Mao, Henry Kissinger and Chiang Kai-Shek, but it took away from the main points of her book. She was supposed to write about the week Nixon visited China and instead cluttered it up with historical information about everything that led up to that visit, whether it was vital to the story or not. I'm sure if I had kept reading I would have been more engrossed. She had to have gotten to the point eventually. But I had wasted enough time being stuck on this book, and decided to move on. "

" A terrific primer on a crucial episode. This would not be able to be kept secret today. Really well-written and interesting. "

" Excellent account of how the Vietnam War ended and how America finally recognized the People's Republic of China. Also shows how paranoid Nixon was! "

" MacMillan traces the paradigm-changing meeting of Nixon and Mao from the Kissinger arranged secret diplomacy through all the public touristy meetings with pandas and the Great Wall and all the ceremonial drinking to the one-on-one conversations, reconstructed from the participants, translators and bystanders. "

" I really like the format of one pivotal moment surrounded by chapters of context. "

" The behind-the-scenes Cold War statecraft makes for compelling reading, here. It is plain to me we need to remember the full arc of Nixon's accomplishment and impact is not merely as a criminal conspirator. "

" I made it through about 3/4 of this book before I finally had to put it down. It was well written, but it read more like a history textbook and I couldn't take it anymore. Some parts of the book were very interesting, but the author couldn't sustain that momentum throughout. "

" The behind-the-scenes Cold War statecraft makes for compelling reading, here. It is plain to me we need to remember the full arc of Nixon's accomplishment and impact is not merely as a criminal conspirator. "

" really fantastic. It doesn't limit itself to the events of that week, but gives an excellent summary of Sino-American relations up to that point and brief but informative biographies of all the major participants "

" There are some atrocious errors in this otherwise interesting book. To name but one; the author claims Ed Muskie was the democratic candidate in 1972. This is an important book, but basic inaccuracies are off-putting. "

" Fans and detractors of Nixon will enjoy this book as the subject is bigger than just the US President. The writing style is amenable to the casual reader regardless of his position on the political-history buff continuum. Well done. "

" Really, really good. The author does a great job of drawing you into the drama and getting inside of all the characters' heads without growing artificially dramatic on the one hand or boring you on the other. MacMillan is a superb author. "

" Much detail about the Mao/Nixon meeting in 1972 and the Kissinger/En-Lai meetings that led up to it. The book gave a bit more information than I needed, but it was readable enough that I was able to persevere through to the end. "

" Not nearly as good as Paris 1919, but I think that's the subject, rather than the author's skill. This was a readable, interesting book. "

" This books gives much deeper understanding of Nixon and what motivated him in office. The image provided of Mao makes him appear like a monster. Chou En-lai emerges as a key figure. The relationship (or lack there of) between the White House and the State Department puts envents in a new light. "

" learned some but slow, somewhat dull read. "

" It isn't quite on the level of "Paris 1919", for one reason: Nixon doesn't usually warrant writing of this calibre. "

" This books gives much deeper understanding of Nixon and what motivated him in office. The image provided of Mao makes him appear like a monster. Chou En-lai emerges as a key figure. The relationship (or lack there of) between the White House and the State Department puts envents in a new light. "

" A terrific primer on a crucial episode. This would not be able to be kept secret today. Really well-written and interesting. "

" Excellent account of how the Vietnam War ended and how America finally recognized the People's Republic of China. Also shows how paranoid Nixon was! "

" Excellent history. Your knowledge of the late 60's and early 70's will certainly be enhanced "

" I'm not sure why it says Nixon and Mao on the cover of this book. It was published under the title "Nixon in China" in Canada. I guess maybe that title was taken in the US. Nixon was kind of awesome despite the evil corruption stuff. "

" Too many important details left out. Like the whole thing was arranged by Nixon's CFR handler Kissinger. I'm not thinking the whole transfer our wealth to the Chinese has worked out too well. "