In our lifetimes, China has evolved from relative weakness, a victim of more aggressive nations, into a major world power. As the U.S. abandons long-time allies, China is busy forging new alliances, positioning itself as our most formidable competitor, politically, economically and militarily. In Stilwell and the American Experience in China, Barbara Tuchman’s Pulitzer-Prize winning brilliant narrative history, the reader is introduced to America’s number-one man in China, the fabulous “Vinegar Joe,” and of the American relationship to China over three decades. Stilwell loved China deeply, spoke its language, and knew its people as few Americans ever have. The narrative follows Stilwell from the time he first entered China during the Revolution of 1911, through his tours in Peking and Tientsin in the 1920s and 30s, to his return as theater commander for China-Burma-India in World War II. The story reaches a climax in the confrontation between Stilwell and Chiang Kai-shek, with results affecting all of us today.