With Yankee self-reliance, penniless soldier-of-fortune Frederick Townsend Ward (1831-1862) from Salem, Mass., made himself indispensable to China's Manchu dynasty in its bloody crushing of the Taiping rebellion of 1859. Assembling and commanding a highly disciplined army of native Chinese soldiers in Shanghai, Ward was officially made a mandarin by China's rulers. ``In every sense a free-lance''--a questioner of authority, military doctrine and even of national loyalty--he became a Chinese citizen and in 1862 married Yang Chang-mei, daughter of his most loyal backer. He died in battle the same year; his wife survived him by just one year, apparently dying of ``extreme grief.'' In this sympathetic, solid biography, Carr ( Casing the Promised Land ) focuses on political and diplomatic history, portraying the adaptable mercenary as a harbinger of later efforts to open China to Western assistance. (Aug.)
The Devil Soldier: The American Soldier of Fortune Who Became a God in China
This is a story that imperial China never wanted you to hear. It is the astonishing true tale of Frederick Townsend Ward, an American soldier of fortune who changed the course of Chinese history by leading one of the most extraordinary military campaigns the world has ever seen. Generations of anti-Americanism and political turmoil in China have erased nearly all traces of Ward's legacy.
1144057122
The Devil Soldier: The American Soldier of Fortune Who Became a God in China
This is a story that imperial China never wanted you to hear. It is the astonishing true tale of Frederick Townsend Ward, an American soldier of fortune who changed the course of Chinese history by leading one of the most extraordinary military campaigns the world has ever seen. Generations of anti-Americanism and political turmoil in China have erased nearly all traces of Ward's legacy.
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940170078820 |
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Publisher: | Recorded Books, LLC |
Publication date: | 03/04/2011 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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