Cav's Reviews > The Struggle for Taiwan: A History of America, China, and the Island Caught Between

"In another time, Washington and Beijing would have been able to dial the tension down. But June 2023 belongs to a different age..."

The Struggle for Taiwan is a timely and important book, but the writing here bored me to tears...

Author Sulmaan Wasif Khan is Assistant Professor of International History and Chinese Foreign Relations at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He also directs the Water and Oceans program at the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP).

Sulmaan Wasif Khan:


As mentioned above; the geopolitical struggle for Taiwan is a pressing matter. Tensions between the United States and China over the small island have gradually been escalating since the Communists won the Chinese Civil War in 1949..

Unfortunately, the telling of this interesting history fell far short for me here. Broadly speaking - history books break into two distinct categories. Some find the most exciting and memorable episodes and characters, and unfold the story around a cohesive plot, ensuring the reader stays engaged. Others rattle off a virtual non-stop torrent of names, dates, and places. Over and over again. Rinse and repeat - until the reader becomes frustrated.

Sadly, this book was an example of the former, and not the latter. My reviews are always very heavily weighted towards how readable I find the book, and sadly that will see this one penalized fairly harshly...

The author drops this quote, outlining the aim of the book:

"This book, therefore, seeks to provide a comprehensive account of that relationship over the last eight decades. The story begins in 1943, when the Cairo Declaration first held forth the idea that Taiwan would be part of a Chinese state; it ends with the elections in a democratic, practically independent Taiwan in 2024. I could not have attempted such a survey without the excellent work that others have done on various aspects of those relations, though I have also benefited from primary sources from all three sides.7 There are, to be sure, inevitable gaps in the record. But there is enough material around to guide us along the paths that brought the three countries to their present moment—and thereby, perhaps, to show where they might go in the future..."

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Although the book presents a factual telling of this important topic, the writing here was way too long-winded and tedious for my picky tastes. I put the book down midway, which is something I rarely do.
I would not recommend it.
1 star.