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Ping-Pong Diplomacy by Nicholas Griffin
Jan. 16th, 2014 03:57 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
The spring of 1971 brought the greatest geopolitical realignment in a generation. After twenty-two years of antagonism, China and the United States suddenly moved towards a détente – instigated not by politicians but by ping-pong players.
Ping-Pong Diplomacy proves that the dramatic shift can be traced back to Ivor Montagu, the son of a wealthy English baron, producer to Alfred Hitchcock, friend of H. G. Wells, Charlie Chaplin and Leon Trotsky, codifier of table tennis and a spy for the Soviet Union. As chairman of the game’s International Federation, Montagu had hoped that table tennis would help spread Communism around the world. With his help, the game was established as China’s national sport and quickly became a cog in Mao Zedong’s foreign policy.
Griffin unravels the strange story of how the game was manipulated at the highest levels; how Mao used it to help cover up the death of millions during the Great Famine; how championship players were condemned and tortured during the Cultural Revolution; and finally how the survivors were reconvened in 1971 and ordered to reach out to their American counterparts. Through a cast of eccentric characters, from the King of England, to spies, hippies, ping-pong-obsessed generals and atom bomb survivors, Griffin explores how a neglected British sport incited a realignment of world super powers.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
In this book, Nicholas Griffin recounts Ivor Montagu’s creation of the International Table Tennis Association and its impact on international diplomacy, culminating in the historic visit of the US table tennis team to China in 1971, which led to a détente between the two countries. There’s a lot of interesting material here, particularly on the US tour of China, which forms the lynchpin of the book with Griffin’s considerable research including interviews with tour members and their relatives. However, I couldn’t help but find it a superficial read with Griffin never really substantiating all of the arguments that he makes and the book really suffers from a lack of any real characters to drive the story forward.
PING-PONG DIPLOMACY: IVOR MONTAGU AND THE ASTONISHING STORY BEHIND THE GAME THAT CHANGED THE WORLD was released in the United Kingdom on 2nd January 2014. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.
Ping-Pong Diplomacy proves that the dramatic shift can be traced back to Ivor Montagu, the son of a wealthy English baron, producer to Alfred Hitchcock, friend of H. G. Wells, Charlie Chaplin and Leon Trotsky, codifier of table tennis and a spy for the Soviet Union. As chairman of the game’s International Federation, Montagu had hoped that table tennis would help spread Communism around the world. With his help, the game was established as China’s national sport and quickly became a cog in Mao Zedong’s foreign policy.
Griffin unravels the strange story of how the game was manipulated at the highest levels; how Mao used it to help cover up the death of millions during the Great Famine; how championship players were condemned and tortured during the Cultural Revolution; and finally how the survivors were reconvened in 1971 and ordered to reach out to their American counterparts. Through a cast of eccentric characters, from the King of England, to spies, hippies, ping-pong-obsessed generals and atom bomb survivors, Griffin explores how a neglected British sport incited a realignment of world super powers.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
In this book, Nicholas Griffin recounts Ivor Montagu’s creation of the International Table Tennis Association and its impact on international diplomacy, culminating in the historic visit of the US table tennis team to China in 1971, which led to a détente between the two countries. There’s a lot of interesting material here, particularly on the US tour of China, which forms the lynchpin of the book with Griffin’s considerable research including interviews with tour members and their relatives. However, I couldn’t help but find it a superficial read with Griffin never really substantiating all of the arguments that he makes and the book really suffers from a lack of any real characters to drive the story forward.
PING-PONG DIPLOMACY: IVOR MONTAGU AND THE ASTONISHING STORY BEHIND THE GAME THAT CHANGED THE WORLD was released in the United Kingdom on 2nd January 2014. Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.
