Saddened by the passing of John Grady, an incredibly collegial, supportive and public-minded editor and writer. It was an honor to get to know him through the Biographers International military history roundtable.
Posting somewhat belatedly, here's a piece I wrote for the Boston Globe about Evans Carlson's visions for the US and China in WWII. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/11/o...
New interview just posted, talking about Evans Carlson with the School of War podcast. Great conversation with a really knowledgeable host. open.spotify.com/episode/4nlM...
#histbookchat Having recently read "The Raider" by @stephenplatt.bsky.social, I'm chuffed that @ww2tv.bsky.social will have Stephen on #WW2TV to chat about the extraordinary #USMC Evans Carlson on August 4.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoHH...
Thank you!
An Interview with Stephen R. Platt. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/an-... @aaknopf.bsky.social @stephenplatt.bsky.social #Booksky
A street scene in late Qing-dynasty Beijing—layers of commerce, Peking dust, and daily life. Likely around Qianmen, ca 1900.
The new Xi Zhongxun biography by @josephtorigian.bsky.social (published by @stanfordpress.bsky.social) is an amazing achievement and has so much to teach us about CCP politics and 20th century Chinese history. My thoughts:
Lively and thoughtful review just up at @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social by @kellyahammond.bsky.social on The Raider, gripping new trade book on the complex life of an American soldier by @stephenplatt.bsky.social & an edited collection on US-China relations 1937-1949 lareviewofbooks.org/article/gras...
USMC 3rd Battalion 4th Marines march in the Shanghai International Settlement, 1933
A @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social interview on my to listen list (first in the military history category), this one with @stephenplatt.bsky.social on his new book about China & WWII and a many faceted American soldier newbooksnetwork.com/the-raider
One of my favorite interviews I've done on The Raider just posted today. The Curious Man's podcast. Great host, insightful questions. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
Here's an interview I did with Scott Rank at History Unplugged: "How a Marine Embedded with Mao Zedong’s Guerrillas in the 30s Became WW2’s Most Celebrated Special Forces Leader"
www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-unpl...
Read an excerpt from @stephenplatt.bsky.social's new book "The Raider": chinabooksreview.com/2025/05/15/t...
Talking China, opium and empire with the inimitable Will and Anita at the Empire podcast. This was the final episode of their marvelous "Victorian Narcos" series: podcasts.apple.com/tm/podcast/v...
Wide-ranging interview with the excellent War Books podcast: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkqV...
In 1937, a U.S. military officer set off with Mao Zedong’s troops to raid Japanese-occupied territory in the north of China. The Communist guerillas, he felt, could be a model for America's military to emulate.
Read an excerpt from @stephenplatt.bsky.social: chinabooksreview.com/2025/05/15/t...
Thanks, Jeff!
Out today!
🏖️ FEVER BEACH by Carl Hiaasen
🌊 THE BOY FROM THE SEA by Garrett Carr
🚲 LIFE AND ART by Richard Russo
🕯️ HOW TO BE WELL by Amy Larocca
🪖 THE RAIDER by Stephen R. Platt
👁️ NEVER LET ME GO (20th Anniversary Special Edition) by Kazuo Ishiguro
It's a hell of a story, and I've greatly enjoyed the past several years of research. I am fortunate to be the first historian ever to gain access to Carlson's personal papers, making possible the first full, three-dimensional biography of him that's ever been written. I hope you'll give it a read.
Carlson in helmet near the end of his life.
A war correspondent in 1944 described him as the most beloved officer in the Marine Corps to the enlisted men. But his reputation would be posthumously destroyed in the McCarthy era on account of his connections to the Chinese Communists. Today he is forgotten.
Carlson receiving his third Navy Cross.
Carlson was a darling of the wartime press and one of the most decorated Marines of his time. Here he is receiving his third Navy Cross from Admiral Nimitz:
Carlson and Zhu De
He modeled his Raider battalion directly on what he had learned in China. As he wrote to a friend from Guadalcanal, "The old master's philosophy is the guiding force in my organization." The "old master" was Zhu De, the tactical genius behind China's Red Army.
A group of Marine Raiders on Guadalcanal
After Pearl Harbor, Carlson founded the legendary 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, an early U.S. special forces unit that would gain national fame in the Pacific. Here they are on Guadalcanal:
Carlson in a magazine as "Number One Guerrilla"
He was on a personal mission from FDR to learn about the tactics and organizational methods of China's armies. He came out of the experience an apostle of guerrila warfare.
Carlson and Mao Zedong
It's a biography of an extraordinary WWII Marine named Evans Carlson, who embedded with China's communist Eighth Route Army in the late 1930s. Here he is with Mao:
Cover of The Raider
Happy to report that I've got a new book out, The Raider.
Here's a book talk he gave at Jaipur a few months ago, in conversation with yours truly: www.youtube.com/watch?v=peYr...
Congratulations to Edward Wong for winning the first-ever Baifang Schell Book Prize!
