Owen Lattimore and the Loss of China explores one of the most contentious debates in mid-20th-century American history, centered on the fall of China to communism and the U.S. response to this geopolitical shift. At the heart of the controversy was Owen Lattimore, a distinguished scholar of China and Asia, who became a lightning rod for accusations during the Red Scare. Senator Joseph McCarthy and his allies cast Lattimore as a Communist conspirator responsible for America's "failure" in Asia, despite the lack of evidence and his persona non grata status in the Soviet Union. The book delves into the complex interplay of political paranoia, Cold War ideology, and the demonization of intellectuals, revealing how Lattimore's advocacy for diplomatic recognition of the People's Republic of China positioned him as both a visionary and a scapegoat.
Drawing on newly available archival materials and Lattimore's personal papers, the book paints a detailed portrait of the man behind the headlines, his scholarship, and the historical forces that sought to silence him. Through rigorous investigation, it also examines the broader implications of the era's anti-Communist fervor, from academic freedom to the shaping of U.S. foreign policy in Asia. This work is more than a biography; it is a critical study of American political culture and the enduring legacy of the Cold War's impact on public discourse and policy.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1992.
