Henry R. Luce, Time, and the American crusade in Asia / Robert E. Herzstein.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 261-326) and index.

From the American century to the Cold War -- Henry Luce and China : prelude to an American crusade -- Learning to market Chiang's China -- Bitter victory -- China on the brink : what role for America? -- Luce and the "loss" of China -- Cold war strategy : allies and enemies in the battle for China -- Losing China : the hunt for culprits intensifies -- Anti-communist allies in Asia : MacArthur and Rhee -- McCarthy and Korea : crises and opportunities -- The campaign for a wider war in Asia -- Electing Eisenhower while fighting McCarthy -- Time Inc., Eisenhower, and Asian policy, 1952-1959 -- Unwelcome moderation : Eisenhower's caution in East Asia -- Keeping the pressure on Mao and Ho -- Time, Luce, and the looming disaster in Vietnam, 1960-1967 -- Time Inc. and nation-making in Vietnam : from Kennedy to Johnson -- Troubled crusade in Vietnam -- The final years of Henry Luce's mission to Asia.

"Henry Robinson Luce (1898-1967) founded Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated. Born in China to missionary parents, Luce was a kind of lay preacher, eager to mold the American mind and advance his ideological program of intervention, capitalism, democracy (when appropriate), and Christian activism. The most celebrated and influential editor of his day, Luce was also obsessed with the American mission in the world, and with China and East Asia. Luce tried to "sell" this mission to a sometimes reluctant public. A passionate anti-Communist interventionist, he also convinced Americans that the United States had perversely "lost" China to the Communists. A fervent advocate of the Vietnam intervention, Luce, the author of the "American Century," edited incoming correspondents' cables so that the magazines might conform to his ideas. For the first time, we see how Luce accomplished this. Using hitherto inaccessible or neglected sources, Robert E. Herzstein produces a gripping portrait of a great but tragic figure in American history."--Jacket.