{"product_id":"9781451642810","title":"Ping-Pong Diplomacy: The Secret History Behind the Game That Changed the World","description":"\u003cb\u003eCombining the insight of Franklin Foer’s \u003ci\u003eHow Soccer Explains the World\u003c\/i\u003e and the intrigue of Ben Affleck’s \u003ci\u003eArgo\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePing Pong Diplomacy\u003c\/i\u003e traces the story of how an aristocratic British spy used the game of table tennis to propel a Communist strategy that changed the shape of the world.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE SPRING OF 1971 heralded the greatest geopolitical realignment in a generation. After twenty-two years of antagonism, China and the United States suddenly moved toward a détente—achieved not by politicians but by Ping-Pong players. The Western press delighted in the absurdity of the moment and branded it “Ping-Pong Diplomacy.” But for the Chinese, Ping-Pong was always political, a strategic cog in Mao Zedong’s foreign policy. Nicholas Griffin proves that the organized game, from its first breath, was tied to Communism thanks to its founder, Ivor Montagu, son of a wealthy English baron and spy for the Soviet Union. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePing-Pong\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eDiplomacy\u003c\/i\u003e traces a crucial inter­section of sports and society. Griffin tells the strange and tragic story of how the game was manipulated at the highest levels; how the Chinese government helped cover up the death of 36 million peasants by holding the World Table Tennis Championships during the Great Famine; how championship players were driven to their deaths during the Cultural Revolution; and, finally, how the survivors were reconvened in 1971 and ordered to reach out to their American counterparts. Through a cast of eccentric characters, from spies to hippies and Ping-Pong-obsessed generals to atom-bomb survivors, Griffin explores how a neglected sport was used to help realign the balance of worldwide power.","brand":"Scribner","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47124187709680,"sku":"9781451642810","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781451642810_p0.jpg?v=1763837907","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781451642810","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}