Diplomats in Blue: U.S. Naval Officers in China, 1922–1933

William Braisted is one of the world's foremost authorities on the U.S. naval experience in the Pacific, especially China, and Diplomats in Blue is a monumental work that adds further luster to his remarkable career.

The 1920s and 30s were an especially turbulent period in Chinese history, and the U.S. Navy was deployed there not as an instrument of war, but of diplomacy. Their task was to keep China intact, independent, and free of occupation. They faced warlords fighting throughout the country, growing nationalist sentiment, and, eventually, the rise of Chinese communists and heightened Japanese aggression. Their mission included protecting embassies, conducting river patrols, protecting American lives and property, and carrying out civil affairs with the Chinese government.

In this narrative, Braisted--an admiral's son who actually lived in China during his father's tour of duty with the Navy at this time--is both historian and a witness with special insight.