With the powerful Madame Chiang Kai-Shek at the center of one of the great dramas of the 20th century, the story of the founding of modern China ranges from the revolution that swept away the monarchy to the eventual loss to the communists and exile in Taiwan.

Maps on lining pages.

List of principal characters -- 1866-1900 -- 1894-1927 -- 1928-1936 -- 1937-1942 -- 1942-1943 -- 1943-1945 -- 1945-1949 -- 1949-1975 -- 1975-2003.