As for Taiwan, Macmillan records how Nixon wrote a memo for himself (probably on one of the yellow legal pads he was so fond of), "Taiwan - Vietnam = tradeoff." He apparently meant that if Beijing helped the Americans get out of Vietnam without losing face, he in the turn would accept a "one China" policy, if not in so many words. In the event there was serious concern in Taiwan over the wording of the Shanghai Communique that concluded the visit. In fact, the wording on Taiwan had nearly prevented agreement altogether, and many in the US considered it a sell-out. But in general the Taiwan chapter is the least interesting in the book, and doesn't appear to contain any revelations.
There's no mention of John Adams' 1987 opera on the trip, Nixon in China. In it the Kissinger character is a figure of fun who keeps getting stopped in mid-sentence by others. When asked if he'd seen the work, Kissinger apparently replied, "No," and he never would either. He'd clearly read the reports.
By and large this book sees the China visit from a neutral, non-confrontational perspective. Others might choose to portray it as a meeting of two Americans who'd been personally responsible for the deaths of millions through their illegal bombing of Laos and Cambodia and a Communist leader who had the blood of countless Chinese on his hands. There's little of that sort of talk here. Instead Nixon is shown as more of a statesman than his critics would ever allow.
His insecurity is in no doubt, however. When he met Mao Zedong (毛澤東) he told him they were alike in being children of poor parents who'd risen to lead great powers, but he was still overjoyed when a Washington newspaper independently made the comparison. Kissinger is reported as thinking Nixon hadn't understood the reality of what had been done, but that he reassured him nonetheless "by an odd tenderness for this lonely, tortured and insecure man."
All in all, though, the trip was a huge public-relations success, not least in the US. Nine months after returning home, Nixon was re-elected to another term of office in the White House. He was a hero, though not of course for long.
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