By Kim Ji-soo
Staff Reporter
On July 4, 2005 Kim watched a program on the History Channel describing George Washington's major battles during the American Revolutionary War. He found Washington's retreat from Brooklyn, Manhattan through New Jersey onto Pennsylvania very similar to that of Mao Zedong's Long March. He immediately made a connection between the two historical events and after further research on Washington and Mao he decided to write about them and their involvement in the revolutionary wars.
The most interesting and creative aspect of the book is that the author puts Washington and Mao together on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii and has them talking amicably together despite the fact they lived on different continents approximately 150 years apart.
Even though the book is fiction, its contents are based entirely on historical fact. Washington initially discusses both the distant and immediate causes of the American Revolution while Mao talks about the start of Western interference in China, the Opium War and the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
While the book will naturally be attractive to history buffs, it will also appeal to readers not only interested in China and the United States but also fans of international relations. The strategies and tactics included in the book, as well as details of how both men balanced leadership duties with building alliances will be helpful to modern governments and business leaders involved in planning and executing long-term strategies and daily activities. In particular, people in charge of sales and marketing will benefit tremendously by applying lessons from the book to everyday activities.
The author dedicated the book to peace-loving people the world over: living, dead and yet to be born. He says he was shocked to find out that about a million Japanese civilians were killed during World War II even before atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Therefore, the book is not only a conversation between Washington and Mao but also a strong message to the people and the leaders of the world that dialogue is the prescription for lasting peace. Through dialogue, wars can be averted and harmony restored in families and societies.
Through the symbolic dialogue between George Washington and Mao Zedong, Kim wishes for no World War in this century between the United States, the current sole superpower and China, an aspiring one. He hopes people from both countries try to understand each other and cooperate, thereby eliminating any chance of another holocaust and diverting resources away from weapons of mass destruction to improving the living conditions of human beings all around the world.
It is often said that "History repeats itself." However, illustrating an example from the book, Kim points out that you can avoid mistakes made in the past if you know history well enough and prepare against what caused the initial incident in history.
Professor Chung Chong-wook of Seoul National University, a former national security advisor to former president Kim Young-sam, wrote the foreword for the book.