"The authors' recognized expertise and the reality that a confrontation over Taiwan is the single most probable cause of a Sino-American military clash make this book of singular interest to military and civilian policymakers and analysts."—Parameters

"This excellent book could not be more timely, dealing as it does with what the authors convincingly describe as a growing grave threat to the world as we know it, namely, China's military preparations for 'the coming confrontation with Taiwan' and the possible use of nuclear weapons in a war with the United States."—The Journal of Military History

"Well known for their earlier volumes covering the history of China's nuclear weapons program, the Sino-Soviet relationship during the Korean war and the development of Chinese strategic sea power, John Lewis and Xue Litai have again joined forces to produce another excellent study of the modern Chinese military."—Pacific Affairs

"This is the fourth book in the series of pioneering works on the Chinese military by Lewis and Xue, rounding off their series on the nuclear weapons programme, sea power and entry into the Korean War. As is to be expected, this new volume achieves its purpose of providing a full account of the security decision-making process and its associated organizations." – The China Quarterly

«...this is a very valuable study that deserves to be widely read."—CHOICE»