Based on Chinese archival documents, interviews, and more than twenty years of research on the subject, Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia offer a comprehensive look at the Sino-Soviet alliance between the end of the World War II and 1959, when the alliance was left in disarray as a result of foreign and domestic policies. This book is a reevaluation of the history of this alliance and is the first book published in English to examine it from a Chinese perspective.

"This book...is essential reading for all students of the Cold War. The deeper questions it raises about the relationship between domestic politics, national interests, ideology, and foreign policy have long provided grist for debates about American foreign policy, but the foreign policies of the Soviet Union and China have not yet received similarly sophisticated treatment from historians. The attempt to do so in this book by writing this history from a Chinese perspective is perhaps its greatest contribution.... This new volume by Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia is an amazing achievement in the field of Cold War studies. There is nothing else that matches its breadth, coverage, international scope, and detail in one volume.... Producing this volume is a monumental achievement; scholars will read, agree or disagree, and appreciate it for years to come.... The book is simply too rich to review in depth.... This book is essential reading for anyone interested in Sino-Russian relations, past, present or future." - H-Diplo

"[This book] makes for a fascinating read and raises our knowledge of the fraught relationship to a higher level. . . .[The authors] provide greater background information to many of the key decisions and challenge received Western wisdom." - East-West Review