This book examines the dramatically shifting relationship between the peoples and governments of the United States and China during the past century. By focusing on personalities as well as policies, on cultures as well as politics, Schaller explains the roots od the misperceptions that have alternately driven the two countries together and apart. In doing so, Schaller traces the tangled relationship between the U.S. and China from the opium trade and missionary movement in the 19th century to the current tensions over trade relations and human rights.