Understanding modern China is impossible without understanding Chiang Kai-shek. While the outline of his life is well documented—including his glorious achievements and infamous crimes—the man behind these deeds has long remained opaque. As Generalissimo of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army, his decisions cost millions of his countrymen their lives, both during World War II and during the domestic struggle against Mao Zedong’s communist forces. For the next 30 years, he ruled Taiwan, that last bastion of the Republic of China which had not fallen to the communists, as a hard-nosed authoritarian. However, he also set Taiwan on a course toward rapid modernization, industrialization, prosperity, and most importantly, democratization. Who was the man who did all this and more? What can we learn from his successes and failures?

Victorious in Defeat is the first major biography of Chiang Kai-shek to draw on his complete personal diaries, some of which were only recently released to the public. These reflections reveal a man whose character was far from perfect. He was egocentric, irritable, and hot-tempered—even toward fellow world leaders. However, he was also kind and forgiving and able to change his mind in the face of new facts.

Chiang led one of the most corrupt regimes of his time, one in which officers and men shamelessly enriched themselves at the expense of their fellow citizens. But for himself, he chose a strict moral code based on modesty, discipline, and even, at times, frugality. It’s hard to imagine that he was oblivious to what was going on around him. Even his closest family—his in-laws more than anyone else—were flagrantly siphoning off public resources for their personal benefit. Was the great leader unwilling or unable to stop them? Or did his undying love for his wife, Meiling, make him turn a blind eye? Despite the many details that Victorious in Defeat uncovers, we will never know the answer to this and a handful of other challenging questions. Nevertheless, the book offers a glimpse into a rapidly evolving China through the eyes of one who shaped it to no small degree, for better or worse.

There is little to criticize about Alexander Pantsov’s work. It strikes a well-rounded balance, neither exaggerating Chiang’s achievements nor his shortcomings. It’s pleasantly written, thoroughly researched, and, at times, genuinely funny. However, at other times, it can be difficult for an outsider to keep track of all the characters in Chiang’s universe, some of whom reappear decades after first crossing paths with him. If you approach the book with the humility that you won’t remember all of them, or only in passing, but still want to understand how the Generalissimo lived and ruled, you’re in for a read that will draw you in for many hours.