Robert Accinelli examines in comprehensive detail the making of the American military and political commitment to Taiwan during the first half of the 1950s. Starting with President Truman's declaration in January 1950 that the United States would not militarily assist Taiwan's Nationalist Chinese government, he shows why the United States subsequently reversed this position and ultimately chose to embrace Taiwan as a highly valued ally.

In addition to describing the growth of a close but uneasy association between the United States and the Nationalist regime, he focuses on the importance of the Taiwan issue in America's relations with the People's Republic of China and Great Britain.