Monday, May 05, 2014

Blast from the past: A new book in the former native speaker's library

Joseph W. Ballantine, Formosa: A Problem for United States Foreign Policy. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1952.

From the inside dust jacket:
The purpose of this book is to acquaint the general reader with the position of the United States with respect to Formosa and with the facts and considerations pertinent to forming judgments on ways and means for dealing with the problem presented.

The book is divided into three parts:

Part I. Background, presenting the physical setting and a sketch of Formosa's prewar history.

Part II. Developments since World War II, dealing with (a) events in Formosa itself and on the Chinese mainland, giving rise to the problem of Formosa in relation to China, (b) the course of United States policy with regard to Formosa specifically and to the Far East generally, and (c) international developments as they affect the island.

Part III. The Present and Future, containing an analysis of the present situation and of the unresolved questions that can now be foreseen.

The author, formerly Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs in the Department of State, has firsthand knowledge of Formosa going back to 1912 when he was in charge of the American Consulate there. In the course of a long career in the Foreign Service he kept closely in touch with Formosan matters, especially during his period of service in the Department of State. His approach to his subject is therefore that of a practical diplomatist.
Looks interesting. (But I think it's making me sneeze...)