Jay Taylor (author)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jay Taylor
Born
John Taylor

1931
Notable work
The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China

Jay Taylor is a retired U.S. foreign service agent, academic, documentarian, and writer. He is best known for writing The Generalissimo, a biography of Chiang Kai-Shek which won the Lionel Gelber Prize for the best English non-fiction book on Foreign Policy in 2010.[1]

Professional career[]

After serving as an Aviation Cadet in the U.S. Navy, Taylor served in the Foreign Service for 37 years.[2] His career included appointments as leading the White House National Security Counsel for East Asia, Director of Analysis for Asian & Pacific Affairs, Officer-in-Charge of Chinese Political Affairs.

During his time as Ambassador to Cuba, Taylor and his family experienced sound and pressure sensations that left them with concussion-like symptoms,[3] foreshadowing later symptoms from American diplomats.[4]

Besides his work in the U.S. Foreign Service, has worked as a teacher at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, D.C. and Taichung, Taiwan, as Diplomat-in-Residence at the Carter Presidential Center, and as a Research Associate at Harvard's Fairbanks Center for Chinese Studies.

Writings[]

Jay Taylor has written op-eds in the LA Times,[5] The Washington Post,[6] and The New York Times.[7] The most common topic in his columns was criticism of U.S overreach in the Middle East.[8][9]

Taylor's biography of Chiang Kai-Shek is the only book to include information from Chiang's diaries,[10] and it portrayed the general and founder of Taiwan in more positive terms than were previously fashionable.[11][12] Though he lost control of the mainland and occasionally violated human rights, Chiang was able to counter the Japanese invasion and laid the foundation for democracy in Taiwan.[10] For this book, Taylor was awarded the Lionel Gelber Prize for the best English non-fiction book on Foreign Policy in 2010.[1]

His books include:

  • The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-Shek and the Struggle for Modern China. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 2009.[13]
  • The Generalissimo’s Son: Chiang Ching-Kuo and the Revolutions in China and Taiwan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University press. 2000.[14]
  • The Rise and Fall of Totalitarianism in the Twentieth Century. New York, NY: Paragon House. 1993.
  • The Dragon and the Wild Goose: China and India. 1st Edition with Greenwood Press in 1987, 2nd Edition (with new epilogue) with Praeger Publishers in 1991.
  • China and Southeast Asia: Peking’s Relations with Revolutionary Movements. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. 1st Edition 1975, Revised Edition 1979.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "2010". The Lionel Gelber Prize - The Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  2. ^ "Jay Taylor Wins 2010 Lionel Gelber Prize for Book on Chiang Kai-shek" (PDF). Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto. March 2, 2010.
  3. ^ Entous, Adam. "Exploding Mojitos: The First "Sonic Attacks" Targeting American Diplomats in Cuba May Have Taken Place Thirty Years Ago". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  4. ^ Harris, Gardiner (2017-08-24). "16 Americans Sickened After Attack on Embassy Staff in Havana (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  5. ^ Taylor, Jay (July 30, 2001). "How Scholars Get Pulled Into Spy Scares". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  6. ^ Taylor, Jay (June 29, 2003). "When Intelligence Reports Become Political Tools..." The Washington Post. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  7. ^ Taylor, Jay (April 24, 2000). "And the Loser is... Castro". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Taylor, Jay (July 28, 2002). "Mission Accomplished: Now It's Time to Pull Out". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 27, 2002.
  9. ^ Taylor, Jay (June 19, 2002). "Don't Turn Afghan War into Vietnam". Newsday.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Tzu-Chin, Huang (January 2010). "Jay Taylor, The Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China". China Perspectives. 1: 1–3 – via OpenEdition Journals.
  11. ^ Mirsky, Jonathan (November 27, 2009). "She Who Must Be Obeyed". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  12. ^ Buck, David D. (2010). "Jay Taylor Finds Rehabilitating Chiang Kai-shek's Reputation No Small Task". China Review International. 17 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1353/cri.2010.0011. JSTOR 23734344 – via JSTOR.
  13. ^ "The Generalissimo — Jay Taylor". www.hup.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  14. ^ "The Generalissimo's Son — Jay Taylor". www.hup.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
Retrieved from ""