Stephen R. Platt

Saddened by the passing of John Grady, an incredibly collegial, supportive and public-minded editor and writer. It was an honor to get to know him through the Biographers International military history roundtable.

When the US was gung ho for China - The Boston Globe Right after World War II, a crucial alliance between the two countries fell apart. We are still paying the price.

Posting somewhat belatedly, here's a piece I wrote for the Boston Globe about Evans Carlson's visions for the US and China in WWII. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/11/o...

Ep 219: Stephen Platt on Mao's China and the Original Marine Raider School of War · Episode

New interview just posted, talking about Evans Carlson with the School of War podcast. Great conversation with a really knowledgeable host. open.spotify.com/episode/4nlM...

YouTube video by WW2TV The Raider: Evans Carlson USMC and US-China relations in WWII

#histbookchat Having recently read "The Raider" by @stephenplatt.bsky.social‬, I'm chuffed that @ww2tv.bsky.social will have Stephen on #WW2TV to chat about the extraordinary #USMC Evans Carlson on August 4.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoHH...

Thank you!

An Interview with Stephen R. Platt. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/an-... @aaknopf.bsky.social @stephenplatt.bsky.social #Booksky

A street scene in late Qing-dynasty Beijing—layers of commerce, Peking dust, and daily life. Likely around Qianmen, ca 1900.

The Party’s Interests Come First: Five Takeaways Today is publication day for The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping, by Joseph Torigian. Those of us who occupy nerdy China circles have long been anticipat…

The new Xi Zhongxun biography by @josephtorigian.bsky.social (published by @stanfordpress.bsky.social) is an amazing achievement and has so much to teach us about CCP politics and 20th century Chinese history. My thoughts:

Grassroots and Guerrillas | Los Angeles Review of Books Kelly Hammond reviews Stephen R. Platt’s “The Raider: The Untold Story of a Renegade Marine and the Birth of U.S. Special Forces in World War II” alongside other new work about East Asia in World War...

Lively and thoughtful review just up at @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social by @kellyahammond.bsky.social on The Raider, gripping new trade book on the complex life of an American soldier by @stephenplatt.bsky.social & an edited collection on US-China relations 1937-1949 lareviewofbooks.org/article/gras...

USMC 3rd Battalion 4th Marines march in the Shanghai International Settlement, 1933

A @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social interview on my to listen list (first in the military history category), this one with @stephenplatt.bsky.social on his new book about China & WWII and a many faceted American soldier newbooksnetwork.com/the-raider

Stephen R. Platt Interview Podcast Episode · Thecuriousmanspodcast · 05/20/2025 · 1h 2m

One of my favorite interviews I've done on The Raider just posted today. The Curious Man's podcast. Great host, insightful questions. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

How a Marine Embedded with Mao Zedong’s Guerrillas in the 30s Became WW2’s Most Celebrated Special Forces Leader - History Unplugged Podcast - Scott Rank He was a gutsy old man.” “A corker,” said another. “You couldn’t find anyone better.” They talked about him in hushed ton...

Here's an interview I did with Scott Rank at History Unplugged: "How a Marine Embedded with Mao Zedong’s Guerrillas in the 30s Became WW2’s Most Celebrated Special Forces Leader"

www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-unpl...

Read an excerpt from @stephenplatt.bsky.social's new book "The Raider": chinabooksreview.com/2025/05/15/t...

Victorian Narcos: From Opium To Fentanyl (Ep 9) Podcast Episode · Empire · 14/05/2025 · 45m

Talking China, opium and empire with the inimitable Will and Anita at the Empire podcast. This was the final episode of their marvelous "Victorian Narcos" series: podcasts.apple.com/tm/podcast/v...

YouTube video by War Books Podcast - by A.J. Woodhams World War II – China & the Birth of the U.S. Special Forces – Stephen R. Platt

Wide-ranging interview with the excellent War Books podcast: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkqV...

An American Marine In China’s Red Army | China Books Review In 1937, a U.S. military officer set off with Mao Zedong’s troops to raid Japanese-occupied territory in the north of China. The Communist guerillas, he felt, could be a model for America's military t...

Here's an excerpt from my new book: chinabooksreview.com/2025/05/15/t...

In 1937, a U.S. military officer set off with Mao Zedong’s troops to raid Japanese-occupied territory in the north of China. The Communist guerillas, he felt, could be a model for America's military to emulate.

Read an excerpt from @stephenplatt.bsky.social: chinabooksreview.com/2025/05/15/t...

Thanks, Jeff!

Out today!

🏖️ FEVER BEACH by Carl Hiaasen
🌊 THE BOY FROM THE SEA by Garrett Carr
🚲 LIFE AND ART by Richard Russo
🕯️ HOW TO BE WELL by Amy Larocca
🪖 THE RAIDER by Stephen R. Platt
👁️ NEVER LET ME GO (20th Anniversary Special Edition) by Kazuo Ishiguro

It's a hell of a story, and I've greatly enjoyed the past several years of research. I am fortunate to be the first historian ever to gain access to Carlson's personal papers, making possible the first full, three-dimensional biography of him that's ever been written. I hope you'll give it a read.

Carlson in helmet near the end of his life.

A war correspondent in 1944 described him as the most beloved officer in the Marine Corps to the enlisted men. But his reputation would be posthumously destroyed in the McCarthy era on account of his connections to the Chinese Communists. Today he is forgotten.

Carlson receiving his third Navy Cross.

Carlson was a darling of the wartime press and one of the most decorated Marines of his time. Here he is receiving his third Navy Cross from Admiral Nimitz:

Carlson and Zhu De

He modeled his Raider battalion directly on what he had learned in China. As he wrote to a friend from Guadalcanal, "The old master's philosophy is the guiding force in my organization." The "old master" was Zhu De, the tactical genius behind China's Red Army.

A group of Marine Raiders on Guadalcanal

After Pearl Harbor, Carlson founded the legendary 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, an early U.S. special forces unit that would gain national fame in the Pacific. Here they are on Guadalcanal:

Carlson in a magazine as "Number One Guerrilla"

He was on a personal mission from FDR to learn about the tactics and organizational methods of China's armies. He came out of the experience an apostle of guerrila warfare.

Carlson and Mao Zedong

It's a biography of an extraordinary WWII Marine named Evans Carlson, who embedded with China's communist Eighth Route Army in the late 1930s. Here he is with Mao:

Cover of The Raider

Happy to report that I've got a new book out, The Raider.

YouTube video by Jaipur Literature Festival At the Edge of Empire: A Family's Reckoning with China | Edward Wong with Stephen R. Platt

Here's a book talk he gave at Jaipur a few months ago, in conversation with yours truly: www.youtube.com/watch?v=peYr...

Congratulations to Edward Wong for winning the first-ever Baifang Schell Book Prize!