Mission to Mao : US intelligence and the Chinese Communists during World War II / Sara B. Castro.
| Author/creator | Castro, Sara B. author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | Washington, DC : Georgetown University Press, [2024] |
| Copyright Date | ©2024 |
| Description | xvii, 217 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm. |
| Subjects |
| Portion of title | US intelligence and the Chinese Communists during World War II |
| Variant title | United States intelligence and the Chinese Communists during World War 2 |
| Series | Georgetown studies in intelligence history Georgetown studies in intelligence history. ^A1473784 |
| Contents | The Roots of American Intelligence on China -- The Stilwell Faction -- The Spell of the Chinese Communists -- Channels, Stovepipes, and Gatekeepers -- Zaijian, Stilwell -- The Hurley Burley -- In the Cannon's Mouth -- Leaving Yan'an Behind. |
| Abstract | "In the midst of World War II, the United States sent a liaison mission to the headquarters of Chinese Communist forces behind the lines in Yan'an, China. Nicknamed the "Dixie Mission," for its location in "rebel" territory, it was an interagency delegation that included intelligence officers from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The intelligence officers were there to gather intelligence that would help the war effort against Japan, but interagency and political conflicts erupted over whether or not the mission would expand beyond intelligence collection to operations with the Communists. Mission to Mao is a social history of the OSS officers in the field and their clash with political appointees and Washington over the direction of the US relationship with the Chinese Communists. The book reveals the attempts of America's inexperienced intelligence officers to improvise operations and to try to define a role for themselves. The book takes us beyond the history of "China hands" versus American anticommunists who backed Chinese Nationalist Chiang Kai-shek, introducing more nuance. Sara B. Castro shows how potential benefits for the war effort were thwarted by politicization, but she also shows how the OSS officers overreached their authority and suffered from their own biases and blindspots. The book draws upon over 14,000 unpublished records from five archives plus numerous published white papers, memoirs, and scholarly studies to with a focus on the individual American intelligence officers who spent time in Yan'an working with Communist leaders"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-207) and index. |
| Issued in other form | Online version: Castro, Sara B. Mission to Mao Washington, DC : Georgetown University Press, 2024 9781647124526 |
| LCCN | 2023035487 |
| ISBN | 9781647124519 |
| ISBN | 9781647124502 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 1647124506 |
| ISBN | 1647124514 |
| ISBN | (ebook) |