Americans tend to ignore history, Chinese do not. The five pivotal years in the U.S.-China relationship -- 1945 to 1950 -- are the focus of Professor Zi Zhongyuns hugely important study. That half-decade was the seedbed of almost everything that has followed in the ensuing half century. Zi is one of Chinas leading scholars of international relations and an influential authority on U.S. foreign policy. While her books, essays, and reviews are widely read in China, this is the first of her books to appear in English.Chinas rise to world power in the late Twentieth Century changed the shape of the world. The U.S.-China bilateral relationship has become, arguably, the most important one for both countries embracing issues of global and regional security, economic prosperity, and the environment, among a host of others. No Exit? explores the critical period during the early Cold War when the United States assumed the role of dominant world power and the Chinese Communists achieved nationwide victory. Using a wide variety of original source materials and calling on her profound knowledge of China and the United States, Professor Zi skillfully untangles and traces the multiple threads of U.S.-China policy. She uncovers the roots of American hostility and the origins of the continuing impasse over Taiwan. Hers is a sophisticated, subtle, and closely argued work of historical scholarship that is essential for anyone interested in contemporary U.S.-China relations. When the Chinese original of this volume appeared in 1987, it represented a major breakthrough in Chinese discussions of American policy. It presented a degree of complexity and nuance totally missing in earlier formulations which had been constrained by Maoist ideology and isolation. The large documentary base on which her account was built and Professor Zi Zhongyuns own political and scholarly credibility not only changed Chinas policy-makers minds about the nature of the Sino-American relationship, but set a new standard for foreign policy analysis in China. Zi Zhongyun is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and former director of the Institute. A graduate of Qinghua University, she is one of Chinas outstanding scholars of international relations, American studies, and U.S.-China relations.