Richard Kagan: American historian pens book about Lee Teng-hui
U.S. historian Richard Kagan has had a long love affair with Taiwan, having first stepped foot on the island in 1965 and staying here for two years to study at National Taiwan University. Now at the age of 69, he has published an English-language biography of former President Lee Teng-hui, recently released by a U.S. publisher.
A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Kagan received a master's degree there in 1963, later earning a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. He always kept Taiwan firmly in his mind and work, focusing his thesis on the relationship between politics and culture. After his initial two-year sojourn on the island, Kagan has returned to Taiwan many times in the intervening years.
His new book, titled "Taiwan's Statesman: Lee Teng-hui and Democracy in Asia," was published by the Naval Institute Press in Maryland and is available at local bookstores and Internet book sites.
A professor emeritus of history at Hamline University in the U.S., Kagan has researched Taiwan for a long time; the detailed list of references at the end of the book shows just how much work he put in for this tome. The biography details the early life and education of Lee, as well as his time as president of the country.
Lee, who was born in 1923 and served as Taiwan's president from 1988 to 2000, makes a fascinating subject, and Kagan has certainly done his homework.
When asked what drew him to Taiwan over the years, Kagan said in a recent e-mail: "I became interested in Taiwan's struggles for democracy out of my own Jewish heritage regarding human rights and freedom, and out of my experiences in the civil rights movement in America."...
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A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Kagan received a master's degree there in 1963, later earning a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. He always kept Taiwan firmly in his mind and work, focusing his thesis on the relationship between politics and culture. After his initial two-year sojourn on the island, Kagan has returned to Taiwan many times in the intervening years.
His new book, titled "Taiwan's Statesman: Lee Teng-hui and Democracy in Asia," was published by the Naval Institute Press in Maryland and is available at local bookstores and Internet book sites.
A professor emeritus of history at Hamline University in the U.S., Kagan has researched Taiwan for a long time; the detailed list of references at the end of the book shows just how much work he put in for this tome. The biography details the early life and education of Lee, as well as his time as president of the country.
Lee, who was born in 1923 and served as Taiwan's president from 1988 to 2000, makes a fascinating subject, and Kagan has certainly done his homework.
When asked what drew him to Taiwan over the years, Kagan said in a recent e-mail: "I became interested in Taiwan's struggles for democracy out of my own Jewish heritage regarding human rights and freedom, and out of my experiences in the civil rights movement in America."...