James Eldin Reed: Author Website

"The Missionary Mind and American East Asia Policy 1911-1915 (Harvard University Press: $20) is gratifying, with eye-opening details about America's 'lack of clearsightedness,' particularly toward China. Before Vietnam, Korea, and either World War, an overzealous missionary mentality crystallized. It was emotional, seeking to establish Anglo-Protestantism throughout Asia. Unfortunately, it distorted our cultural perceptions and created unrealistic foreign policy, much of which continues, haunting the present Administration."

"James Reed's first book exemplifies the vitality of current research and writing on American-East Asian relations. As a study of the way that Protestant missionaries shaped American public opinion and in turn America's China policy, the book systematically employs the methods of intellectual, social, and economic historians to enlarge and enrich a topic in diplomatic history."

"Reed's book invites discussion and debate: all parties would benefit by it."

"Ingenious."

"His book should be of interest to any student of China's relations with the West."

"Americans' eagerness to see in China a reflection of their own vanishing innocence could easily lead to unrealistic appraisals of the situation. Disillusionment and such silly 1950s questions as "Who lost China?" were among the legacies of a highly emotional response to the Asian giant."

"Eloquent"

"Reed's Missionary Mind had paternalistic and rather arrogantly aggressive qualities... conducing later to the warfare in Korea and Vietnam."

"Why did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1941? What caused the 'loss of China' in 1949? While James Reed is too cautious and methodically self-conscious a historian to provide direct answers to such complex questions, he has demonstrated that careful attention to American foreign policy in East Asia in the crucial years between 1911 and 1915 can provide certain basic understandings necessary for attempting answers to these and related queries."

"Reed's own 'postmodern mind' makes it hard for him to empathize with the missionary mind.... But his probing monograph makes a provocative and important contribution toward answering questions that have long troubled us; in a somewhat caustic way it highlights realities that must be taken seriously.

"Extremely readable and provocative."

"He presents a persuasive case for the dominance of the missionary mind among the public."

"His astute summary of the Protestant mission movement's nature, scope, and influence does not lack appreciation of its spirit and principles."

"In sum, it is an imaginative blend of diplomatic and social history."

"A fine book."

"Persuasively supports its central thesis."

"An excellent account."

"Often provocative and well worth savoring."

"Recommended for undergraduates in Asian history."

"James Reed examines the lingering influences, pernicious and otherwise, that flow from the presence of the American Protestant mission to early 20th century China. Those Americans who went to China in the name of God were truly remarkable people, at once of impressive and unbelievable mind-set -- and it was an amazing world to which they went. In many ways the seductive lure of China and the American response to it in the form of secular but messianic zeal anticipates the American experience later in Vietnam. An interesting work."