Reader Comments
“Sometimes a writer can use one person’s story to illuminate an entire piece of history, and that is what Lynne Joiner does in her engrossing and readable book…. This is both a solid addition to scholarship of the Cold War era and the moving, very personal story of the life of one man: brilliant, flawed, long suffering, and honorable indeed.”
–Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
“Jack Service’s experiences in wartime China and post-war America are an exciting tale with important resonances for current foreign policy challenges in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Iran as well as US-China relations. I can’t wait to see the movie.”
–Susan Shirk, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State (1997-2000); currently Director, University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, U.C.-San Diego
“Joiner ably tells the tragic story of a good American laid low by the basest kind of character assassination masquerading as anti-Communism. All one can say is: ‘Read this book and weep!’ ”
–Orville Schell, Director of the Center for US-China Relations, Asia Society
Customer Reviews from Amazon.com:
–Hank Schoepp, Las Vegas, NV“The last time I lost this much sleep over a book it was Red October…. I have spent time in China and was immediately able to connect with the story she tells. I knew pieces of it but have never had the opportunity to see it all come together – and she does a great job of bringing all the pieces together. The only problem with making a movie out of John Service’s life would be trying to fit this story into so short a time.”
–Frank Sheeman, Austin, TX
“This maelstrom of political intrigue, with Service at the center, is presented in well-documented and engaging detail. It is critical reading for anyone concerned with China policy and an instance of Congress and the FBI subverting justice.”
–Richard H. Solomon, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Relations; currently President of the U.S. Institute of Peace
“Honorable Survivor is the gripping tale of one man’s extraordinary life in wartime China and the Kafkaesque era of McCarthyism in America. Lynne Joiner does a masterful job of using new materials to illuminate how personal decisions, great historical forces, and the actions of vindictive and overzealous officials shaped developments in China, the United States, and U.S.-China relations in ways that have yet to be fully resolved.”
–Thomas Fingar, former U.S. Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis; currently lecturer at Stanford University
“How [Jack Service] survived and was ultimately vindicated are the subject of Lynne Joiner’s insightful and deeply moving biography.”
–Chalmers Johnson, author of Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power and Blowback: the Costs and Consequences of American Empire
“Jack Service did not lose China. On the contrary, he was a hero of the times…. This well-written and thoroughly researched book… helps us understand the machinations and failures of U.S.-China policy, on both the American and Chinese sides.”
–Victor Hao Li, former President, East-West Center, Honolulu, and former Shelton Professor of International Law, Stanford Law School