Review: "Nixon And Mao: The Week that Changed the World"

It’s been forever since my last blog post and almost the same time to finish “Nixon and Mao: The week that changed the world”. It’s a hardcover, 400-plus-page book that weighs a tonne, which in no way I could bring it with me to work and read while on train to and from work. Other responsibilities also prevented me from spending more time on reading at home. But at long last, I’ve finished it.

Nixon and Mao was about the 1972 summit in China, whereby US President Nixon visited China. The summit took everyone by surprise, considering that the US was strongly against communism as China was against imperialism. However, both sides realized the need for both countries to form this unlikely friendship for various political and economical reasons.

While I’m vaguely familiar with the summit from news reports I’ve seen from the Internet, this book tells, in great details, in the workings behind the meeting between President Nixon and Chairman Mao. Every detail about the summit was included, from the invitation from China (both sides have thoroughly discussed on the wordings of the invitation so that both sides didn’t show signs of weakness), arrangements on talks, the meeting between Nixon and Mao, talks, banquets, visits to various locations, press arrangements, to the communique (again with the wordings, especially when it comes to Taiwan’s status). One could imagine the overwhelming efforts and stress involved in the monumental event.

Politics is never one of my favorite topics. While I can’t say I hate politics, I do dislike it. But one has to admit that politics is important when it comes to matters that affect the welfare of a country and its people, and reading Nixon and Mao made me appreciate politics, even for just a tiny bit.