Email Novel Suspects Logo
Hachette provides comprehensive global distribution services in the following territories:
United States flag Switch to United States region United Kingdom flag Switch to United Kingdom region Australia flag Switch to Australia region India flag Switch to India region

Hachette Book Group menu

  • Home
  • Publishers
  • Customers
  • Sustainability
  • Retailer Portal
  • Location
  • Our Culture
  • Our Careers
Go to Hachette Book Group home

Hachette Book Group menu

  • Home
  • Publishers
  • Customers
  • Sustainability
  • Retailer Portal
  • Location
  • Our Culture
  • Our Careers

By clicking “Accept,” you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies on your device as set forth in our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy. Please note that certain cookies are essential for this website to function properly and do not require user consent to be deployed.

China Hands

Nine Decades of Adventure, Espionage, and Diplomacy in Asia

China Hands Open the full-size image

Loading

Contributors

By James R. Lilley

By Jeffrey Lilley

Formats and Prices

On Sale
Jul 6, 2005
Page Count
448 pages
Publisher
PublicAffairs
ISBN-13
9781586483432

Price

$24.99

Price

$31.99 CAD

Format

Trade Paperback

Format:

Trade Paperback $24.99 $31.99 CAD

Buy from Other Retailers:

  • Amazon
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Books-A-Million
  • Bookshop
  • Target
  • Walmart

James Lilley’s life and family have been entwined with China’s fate since his father moved to the country to work for Standard Oil in 1916. Lilley spent much of his childhood in China and after a Yale professor took him aside and suggested a career in intelligence, it became clear that he would spend his adult life returning to China again and again.

Lilley served for twenty-five years in the CIA in Laos, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Taiwan before moving to the State Department in the early 1980s to begin a distinguished career as the U.S.’s top-ranking diplomat in Taiwan, ambassador to South Korea, and finally, ambassador to China. From helping Laotian insurgent forces assist the American efforts in Vietnam to his posting in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square crackdown, he was in a remarkable number of crucial places during challenging times as he spent his life tending to America’s interests in Asia. In China Hands, he includes three generations of stories from an American family in the Far East, all of them absorbing, some of them exciting, and one, the loss of Lilley’s much loved and admired brother, Frank, unremittingly tragic.

China Hands is a fascinating memoir of America in Asia, Asia itself, and one especially capable American’s personal history.

Genre:

  • Nonfiction
  • History
  • Asia
  • General

During a government career spanning four decades, James Lilley served in the CIA, White House, State Department, and Defense Department. He is the only American to have served as the head of the American missions in Beijing, where he was ambassador from 1989-1991, and Taiwan, where he was Director of the American Institute in Taiwan from 1982-1984. He also served as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 1986-1989. He is currently a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC.

Jeffrey Lilley is a journalist. He lives in Silver Springs, Maryland, with his wife and two sons.

You May Also Like

The New Asian Hemisphere
The New Asian Hemisphere $21.99 $28.99 CAD
The New Chinese Empire
The New Chinese Empire $13.99 $17.99 CAD
When Asia Was the World
When Asia Was the World $17.99 $22.99 CAD
The Wonga Coup
The Wonga Coup $21.99 $28.99 CAD
Will the Boat Sink the Water?
Will the Boat Sink the Water? $19.99 $25.99 CAD

Newsletter Signup

Get recommended reads, deals, and more from Hachette

By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

James R. Lilley

About the Author

During a government career spanning four decades, James Lilley served in the CIA, White House, State Department, and Defense Department. He is the only American to have served as the head of the American missions in Beijing, where he was ambassador from 1989-1991, and Taiwan, where he was Director of the American Institute in Taiwan from 1982-1984. He also served as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 1986-1989. He is currently a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC.

Jeffrey Lilley is a journalist. He lives in Silver Springs, Maryland, with his wife and two sons.

Learn more about this author

Jeffrey Lilley

About the Author

Learn more about this author

▲
HBG Distribution logo
  • FAQ
  • Vendors
  • Cookie Policy
  • Report Piracy
  • Fraud Alert
  • CPSIA
  • GPSR
© 2025 Hachette Book Group | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Do Not Sell My Personal Information