The Raider: China and the Life of Evans Carlson, with Historian Stephen Platt

This week on Sinica, I chat with Stephen Platt, historian at UMass Amherst and author, most recently, of the book The Raider: The Untold Story of a Renegade Marine and the Birth of U.S. Special Forces in World War II. Like his previous works, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom and Imperial Twilight, it offers a compelling narrative history of an overlooked chapter through a deeply empathetic and well-researched examination of individual lives. Please make sure to listen to the excerpt from the audiobook at the end of this podcast. 04:21 - Evans Carlson: A forgotten hero 07:49 - The Real Carlson vs. the constructed Carlson 10:04 - The book's origin 12:20 - Carlson's ideological transformation 16:50 - Carlson's religious beliefs and public perception 20:04 - Emerson's influence on Carlson's thinking  23:46 - Inner conflicts: Soul-searching or regret? 27:15 - Carlson's relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt 30:39 - Gung Ho Meetings: meaning, practice, and legacy 33:34 - Zhu De’s influence on Carlson  40:28 - Carlson’s relationships with Agnes Smedley and Edgar Snow 47:49 - Hopes for U.S.-China alliance  51:57 - Carlson’s death and his legacy  58:01 - Lessons from Carlson Paying it Forward: Peter Thilly, Emily Mokros Recommendations:  Stephen: 11.22.63 by Stephen King; Ted Chiang (author); Otoboke Beaver (band); Book of Mormon (musical) Kaiser: Wobbler (band); The Religion by Tim Willocks; Zappa (2020) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.