Book cover of Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937-1945

Book description

An Economist Book of the Year
A Financial Times Book of the Year

“A book that has long cried out to be written.” — Observer (UK), Books of the Year

In 1937, two years before Hitler invaded Poland, Chinese troops clashed with Japanese occupiers in the first battle of World…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked Forgotten Ally as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

For many years, American views of the China’s role in World War II were strongly influenced by Barbara Tuchman’s best-selling, Stilwell and the American Experience in China published in 1971. Tuchman painted China’s war effort as brave but costly and ineffective thanks to the incompetence and corruption of Chiang Kai Shek. Portrayed as a kind of Chinese George Washington in the U.S. media, Tuchman saw Chiang as being in fact, far less interested in defeating the Japanese than in ensuring that his regime survived the war in a position to vanquish its domestic rivals, especially Mao Zedong’s Communists 

In contrast,…

From Ronald's list on the Asia Pacific War from 1937-1945.

Given all the hoopla of the US-China rivalry going on today, this book would be a timely reminder not only that China was once an important ally for the common good of the world, but also that China can be an ally again on so many fronts (environment and climate change, alternative/renewable energy resources, and so on) if we find the courage and wisdom to manage the fundamental differences and learn to coexist with each other for the common good of the world.

From Shouhua's list on the Pacific Theater in WW2.

If you love Forgotten Ally...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like Forgotten Ally?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Forgotten Ally.

Browse books like Forgotten Ally

Book cover of The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II
Book cover of Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze
Book cover of Red Star over China: The Classic Account of the Birth of Chinese Communism

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,340

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Forgotten Ally, you might also like...

Book cover of Foxfire in the Snow

Foxfire in the Snow by J.S. Fields,

It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.

Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…

Book cover of The Main Gate

The Main Gate by Yvonne Kjorlien,

Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.

Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…

5 book lists we think you will like!