Taiwan Is More Than a Piece on a Chessboard

The Struggle for Taiwan: A History of America, China, and the Island Caught Between, by Sulmaan Wasif Khan (Basic Books, 331 pages, $32)

Sometimes an author makes a good case for something she or he did not quite intend. Sulmaan Khan’s book The Struggle for Taiwan leaves me with a new and deeper respect for the viewpoints of people who live on Taiwan and wishing that analysts would stop viewing them as pawns in other people’s chess games.

About the Author

Perry Link

Mr. Link holds the Chancellorial Chair for Teaching across Disciplines at the University of California, Riverside.

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The Struggle for Taiwan: A History of America, China, and the Island Caught Between, by Sulmaan Wasif Khan (Basic Books, 331 pages, $32)

Sometimes an author makes a good case for something she or he did not quite intend. Sulmaan Khan’s book The Struggle for Taiwan leaves me with a new and deeper respect for the viewpoints of people who live on Taiwan and wishing that analysts would stop viewing them as pawns in other people’s chess games.