Picturing China in the American Press The Visual Portrayal of Sino-American Relations in Time Magazine

Picturing China is the first postDCold War intensive study comparing and contrasting press coverage of an important period in East-West relations to the what we know now of archival history. The book reveals the many instances when the American public and journalists, as well as our government, floundered in their attempt to understand China and so serves as a cautionary tale for all those who wish to comprehend the complexities of other nations and other peoples via journalism's first draft of history.

David D. Perlmutter is professor and associate dean of graduate studies and research in the William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications at the University of Kansas.