For Richard Nixon’s foreign policy, 1971 was the best of years and the worst of years. He revealed his opening to China, but he connived at genocide in East Pakistan. Fortunately for him, the world marveled at the one, but was largely ignorant of the other.The two events were connected. General Yahya Khan, the president of Pakistan, was Washington’s principal back channel to
The spring of 1971 heralded the greatest geopolitical realignment in a generation. After twenty-two years of antagonism, China and the United States suddenly moved toward a détente achieved not by politicians but by Ping-Pong players. The Western press delighted in the absurdity of the moment and branded it “Ping-Pong Diplomacy.” But for the Chinese, Ping-Pong was always
Peng Sheperd maps out a nearly perfect second novel in "The Cartographers," a story of obsession. The author will participate in the Broward Public Library Foundation's Literary Feast April 1-2.