{"title":"Eric Setzekorn","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"rise-and-fall-of-an-officer-corps-book-eric-setzekorn-9780806191201","title":"The Rise and Fall of an Officer Corps","description":"The People’s Republic of China is the only large country in the world that does not have a “national” military; its military answers only to a political party, the Chinese Communist Party. For a brief period in the mid-twentieth century, China had the makings of a professional, apolitical military force. The Rise and Fall of an Officer Corps tells the story of that moment in the military history of modern China—how it came to be, why it ultimately failed, and what it meant for China at home and abroad.   Between 1942 and 1955 a cadre of highly trained, nationalistic, and cosmopolitan Chinese officers created a professional, depoliticized military, a force that could effectively represent the aspirations of China as a world power. Drawing on multiple archival sources and Chinese military journals, author Eric Setzekorn charts the development of this new army as a critical cultural and political force with extensive connections to foreign powers. During this period, military officers were the primary actors in an intergovernmental partnership between the United States and the Republic of China. The partnership gave officers access to educational opportunities and technological transfers that were central to their professional ideals. Setzekorn’s account of the career of General Sun Li-jen, an American-educated Chinese army officer, illustrates the rise of this new sense of professionalism as well as its decline after 1953. Setzekorn then traces the failure of the army-building project to a renewed politicization of military forces, marked by a purge of key military leaders in 1955 by Chiang Kai-shek and his Koumintang (KMT) party.   By focusing on this important chapter in Chinese military history, Setzekorn’s work also highlights broader patterns of military transformation during the pivotal period from World War II through the early Cold War. His work is critical to understanding the rise of China as a military and world power.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49746237030673,"sku":"NGR9780806191201","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52148737442065,"sku":"NLS9780806191201","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0806191201.jpg?v=1767350617"},{"product_id":"arming-east-asia-book-eric-setzekorn-9781682478516","title":"Arming East Asia","description":"Arming East Asia: Deterring China in the Early Cold War examines President Eisenhower’s mutual security program in East Asia and explains how that administration worked to contain China. This historical chronicle offers insights and perspectives regarding how to address Sino-American tensions and maintain a free and open Asia-Pacific. Eric Setzekorn argues that President Eisenhower expanded and solidified the U.S. presence in East Asia through use of military aid and military advisory efforts in sharp contrast to the use of U.S. military forces by Presidents Truman, Kennedy and Johnson. In South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Southeast Asia (particularly in Thailand and South Vietnam), the United States spent billions of dollars and significant time developing local military forces. By the end of Eisenhower’s two terms, a force of over 1.4 million Allied soldiers in East Asia had been trained, equipped, and often paid through American military assistance. Eisenhower’s mutual security policies were vital in building local allies, and by the end of the 1950s, East Asia was beginning a long period of growth that would make it the economic heart of the world within fifty years. American policies that created close ties and involvement in the affairs of allied nations also constrained allies, such as Chiang Kai-shek in Taiwan, and Syngman Rhee in South Korea, who often sought to take direct action against the PRC. The heavy role of American military advisors and experts “on the ground” in East Asia also profoundly shaped the character of these nations, all of which were emerging from war, by putting massive resources into the government administration and military forces of newly formed states. With an assertive China using its growing political and military power throughout East Asia, contemporary U.S. security challenges are similar to the situation faced in that earlier contentious era. Eisenhower’s policies from 1953 to 1961 clearly demonstrate an awareness of the possibilities for military, economic and political growth in East Asia, and the challenges of deterring Chinese (PRC) expansion during the early Cold War.    The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. government.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50893125222673,"sku":"NGR9781682478516","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51045562941713,"sku":"NIN9781682478516","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53613572292881,"sku":"CIN1682478513G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1682478513.jpg?v=1750993349"},{"product_id":"uncertain-allies-book-eric-setzekorn-9781682472033","title":"Uncertain Allies","description":"Uncertain Allies looks at the U.S. military’s experience in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater during World War II through the eyes of Joseph Stilwell, the commanding general of all American forces in those three countries. Accomplished historian Eric Setzekorn, focuses on two key themes: uncertain allies and ambiguous missions.   Despite being allies, relationships between the Americans and Chinese, as well as the Americans and the British, were marked by a profound lack of trust in the CBI theater. This was particularly problematic because most combat personnel under Stilwell’s command were Chinese. As a result, the lack of trust directly impacted tactical and operational planning. The second reoccurring theme, ambiguous missions, refers to the poorly defined goals for the theater. The CBI’s mission was vague, and Stilwell lacked clear objectives or benchmarks of success.      Underlying both themes is the key flaw in Stilwell’s conduct in the CBI theater: a failure to understand the American political context in which he operated. Stilwell advocated for a transactional military and political relationship despite clear indications that President Roosevelt, other political leaders, and the American public at large desired a long-term cooperative relationship. In this context of deep and widespread public support for forging a close and lasting alliance with China, Stilwell’s proposals to make military aid and American support on a quid pro quo basis was an isolated position that inevitably ran into staunch opposition. The result was a dangerous disconnect between American military operations and national policy.     Setzekorn, who is fluent in Chinese, relied on a wide variety of sources when writing this penetrating account of the U.S. military’s time in the CBI theater, including Chinese and Japanese language archival material. The declassification of numerous U.S. government sources over the past fifteen years also enables Setzekorn to make a full assessment and analysis of World War II-era strategic thinking and military policy.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51389194830097,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51389194895633,"sku":"NIN9781682472033","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52933800231185,"sku":"CIN1682472035VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1682472035.jpg?v=1773916850"},{"product_id":"rise-and-fall-of-an-officer-corps-book-eric-setzekorn-9780806161181","title":"The Rise and Fall of an Officer Corps","description":"For a brief period in the mid-twentieth century, China had the makings of a professional, apolitical military force. The Rise and Fall of an Officer Corps tells the story of that moment in the military history of modern China - how it came to be, why it ultimately failed, and what it meant for China at home and abroad.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52482181398801,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52482182742289,"sku":"NLS9780806161181","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780806161181.jpg?v=1767352688"},{"product_id":"on-the-brink-book-eric-setzekorn-9798892410267","title":"On the Brink","description":"Drawing on newly declassified U.S. records and Chinese-language sources, this is the first comprehensive history of Taiwan’s armed forces and their central role in resisting Chinese pressure for more than seventy-five years. It reveals how Taiwan built a resilient military under extreme constraints, forged a lasting U.S. security partnership, and helped shape the island’s democratic transformation.  Since 1949, Taiwan’s armed forces have faced the daunting task of defending an island less than one hundred miles from China’s coast against a far larger adversary. Spanning seventy-five years of conflict, deterrence, and adaptation, the military has not only ensured the island’s survival, but has also shaped its political transformation and place in the international system. In On the Brink author Eric Setzekorn offers the first comprehensive history of Taiwan’s armed forces, situating their experience at the center of debates over security in East Asia.  At its core is the account of how Taiwan confronted the threat of the People’s Republic of China and built a credible defense under severe financial, technological, and diplomatic constraints. Military leaders and policymakers sustained deterrence through decades of U.S. assistance and cooperation, creating one of Washington’s most effective and enduring security partnerships. The resilience of this relationship stands in sharp contrast to troubled American efforts in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, highlighting Taiwan as a rare success story in alliance and defense policy.  The Taiwanese military reaches deeply into Taiwanese society. Conscription touches nearly all households, veterans shape communities, and the gradual integration of women has reflected broader cultural change. During Taiwan’s democratic transition, the armed forces remained central, influencing debates over citizenship, identity, and reform. Rather than existing apart from society, the military is embedded in the fabric of everyday life and political change.  Based on newly declassified U.S. records, Chinese-language sources, and the author’s background as both a U.S. Army officer and historian, On the Brink weaves military, political, and diplomatic history into a unified narrative. It challenges portrayals of Taiwan as a passive object of great-power rivalry, showing instead how its armed forces forged resilience, supported democratization, and sustained deterrence against China for more than three quarters of a century.  Accessible yet rigorous, this work speaks to historians of modern East Asia, scholars of security studies, and readers concerned with the future of U.S.-China competition. More than a chronicle of past conflicts, it offers a framework for thinking about deterrence, alliance, and strategy in one of the most contested regions of the twenty-first century.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":53648837345553,"sku":"NGR9798892410267","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9798892410267.jpg?v=1781130857"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-eric-setzekorn.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}