>
✔ 100% Money-Back Guarantee on Eligible Items
✔ Prices Displayed in Your Local Currency
✔ Final Price = No Surprise Import Fees
✔ Complimentary Insured Worldwide Shipping on Qualifying Orders
✔ Select Collector & Specialty Pieces May Require Secured Delivery Handling
by Frederic Wakeman (Author)
The most feared man in China, Dai Li, was chief of Chiang Kai-shek's secret service during World War II. This sweeping biography of "China's Himmler," based on recently opened intelligence archives, traces Dai's rise from obscurity as a rural hooligan and Green Gang blood-brother to commander of the paramilitary units of the Blue Shirts and of the dreaded Military Statistics Bureau: the world's largest spy and counterespionage organization of its time.
In addition to exposing the inner workings of the secret police, whose death squads, kidnappings, torture, and omnipresent surveillance terrorized critics of the Nationalist regime, Dai Li's personal story opens a unique window on the clandestine history of China's Republican period. This study uncovers the origins of the Cold War in the interactions of Chinese and American special services operatives who cooperated with Dai Li in the resistance to the Japanese invasion in the 1930s and who laid the groundwork for an ongoing alliance against the Communists during the revolution that followed in the 1940s. Frederic Wakeman Jr. illustrates how the anti-Communist activities Dai Li led altered the balance of power within the Chinese Communist Party, setting the stage for Mao Zedong's rise to supremacy. He reveals a complex and remarkable personality that masked a dark presence in modern China--one that still pervades the secret services on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Wakeman masterfully illuminates a previously little-understood world as he discloses the details of Chinese secret service trade-craft. Anyone interested in the development of modern espionage will be intrigued by Spymaster, which spells out in detail the ways in which the Chinese used their own traditional methods, in addition to adapting foreign ways, to create a modern intelligence service.
Front Jacket
A tour de force. Wakeman combines his vast knowledge of Chinese history, his own work on China's police, his skill as a storyteller, and his ten years of being entranced with Dai Li, Chiang Kaishek's Himmler, to bring to life one of China's most imaginative and horrible demons.--Ezra F. Vogel, author of One Step Ahead: Guangdong Under Reform
Wakeman masterfully pieces together, in fascinating and extraordinary detail, the rise of Chiang Kai-shek's top spymaster, Dai Li. Spymaster captures Dai's persona, explains the extraordinary personal trust Chiang placed in him, and reveals how Dai wielded power from the end of the 1920s to his death in 1946. This comprehensive and meticulous volume brings us into the core structures of Chiang's power and sheds light on many previously dark corners of the Republican body politic. It deeply enriches our knowledge not only of Dai Li and of the Chinese secret service but also of this entire period in Republican China--Kenneth Lieberthal, author of Governing China: From Revolution Through Reform
If Sherlock Holmes had been an historian, the result might have been Frederic Wakeman's astonishing and enthralling story of Dai Li, longtime master of a vast secret world of political intrigue, police terror, drug smuggling, and predatory sex, but also America's collaborator in WWII, whose fingerprints are all over decades of China's twentieth-century history. Thanks to the mountain of evidence uncovered by Wakeman, Dai Li is no longer 'the mystery man of Asia.'--Stephen F. Cohen, author of Failed Crusade: America and the Tragedy of Post-Communism Russia
Back Jacket
A tour de force. Wakeman combines his vast knowledge of Chinese history, his own work on China's police, his skill as a storyteller, and his ten years of being entranced with Dai Li, Chiang Kaishek's Himmler, to bring to life one of China's most imaginative and horrible demons.--Ezra F. Vogel, author of One Step Ahead: Guangdong Under Reform
"Wakeman masterfully pieces together, in fascinating and extraordinary detail, the rise of Chiang Kai-shek's top spymaster, Dai Li. Spymaster captures Dai's persona, explains the extraordinary personal trust Chiang placed in him, and reveals how Dai wielded power from the end of the 1920s to his death in 1946. This comprehensive and meticulous volume brings us into the core structures of Chiang's power and sheds light on many previously dark corners of the Republican body politic. It deeply enriches our knowledge not only of Dai Li and of the Chinese secret service but also of this entire period in Republican China"--Kenneth Lieberthal, author of Governing China: From Revolution Through Reform
"If Sherlock Holmes had been an historian, the result might have been Frederic Wakeman's astonishing and enthralling story of Dai Li, longtime master of a vast secret world of political intrigue, police terror, drug smuggling, and predatory sex, but also America's collaborator in WWII, whose fingerprints are all over decades of China's twentieth-century history. Thanks to the mountain of evidence uncovered by Wakeman, Dai Li is no longer 'the mystery man of Asia.'"--Stephen F. Cohen, author of Failed Crusade: America and the Tragedy of Post-Communism Russia
Author Biography
Frederic Wakeman Jr. is Haas Professor of Asian Studies in the Department of History at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of The Shanghai Badlands: Wartime Terrorism and Urban Crime, 1937-1941 (1996), Policing Shanghai, 1927-1937 (California, 1995), and The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-Century China (California, 1985), among others.
- In stock, ready to ship
- ✔ Authenticity Guaranteed — Verified Designer Goods
- ✔ Sourced from Authorized European/U.S. Luxury Distributors
- ✔ Secure Checkout — SSL Encrypted Payments
- ✔ Fast Global Delivery — 3–11 Business Days
- ✔ Easy Returns on Eligible Items
- ✔ 100% Money-Back Guarantee — Full Refund if Not Satisfied
AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEED
Reserved for you — complete your purchase to secure this piece.
OFFICIALLY AUTHORIZED RESELLER
Discover Officially Authorized Authentic Items at STORE7994.com - Certificates Available on Request!
Independently verified for store quality and customer safety.
Trust score: 91/100
All designer items offered by STORE 7994 are sourced from trusted luxury distributors and verified through independent authentication services.
Learn how STORE 7994 authenticates luxury items
Guaranteed Authentic — Includes Brand Documentation & Third-Party Verification Options.
Shipping information
- Free Shipping* on all orders over $300 USD to most countries* Estimated delivery: 2-5 business days Mon-Sat to U.S., CA, EU etc.
- Tracking available: DHL Express
- Store 7994 Shipping policy
- Global delivery in 3–9 business days (location dependent).
- Free Worldwide Shipping $300+. International duties & VAT are calculated by destination country and may be collected upon delivery. UK orders are subject to 20% import VAT upon delivery.
Our innovation isn’t just in the brands we carry — it’s in the way we connect them. From our automation engine that keeps collections globally updated to our commitment to authenticity-first presentation, STORE 7994 exists where timeless design meets modern precision.
Every product we offer is:
Elevated · Intentional · Exclusive · Authentic
STORE 7994 is an authorized reseller of luxury fashion houses. Certificates and proof of authenticity are available to brand owners and partners upon request.
Returns & Refunds
We want you to shop with confidence at STORE 7994. If your purchase does not meet expectations, eligible items may be returned under the conditions below.
Return Eligibility
Items must be unused, unworn, and in original condition with all tags, packaging, and accessories included. Items showing any signs of wear or damage will not be accepted.
Return Window
Return requests must be made within 14 days of delivery.
Return Shipping
Customers are responsible for return shipping costs unless the item is defective, damaged, or incorrect.
Luxury Items
Items valued over $1,000 may be subject to a 7% restocking fee upon approved return.
Non-Returnable Items
For hygiene and product integrity reasons, the following items are final sale once opened or used:
• Underwear
• Fragrances
• Any worn or used items
Made-to-Order Items
Custom-designed products, including STORE 7994 hoodies, are made exclusively for each customer and are final sale. These items are not eligible for return or exchange unless defective or incorrect.
If you receive a defective or incorrect item, please contact us and we will make it right.
International Shipping & Duties
Many of our products ship directly from trusted international partners. Any applicable customs duties or import taxes are calculated at checkout and are non-refundable, even if the item is returned.
Returns & Associated Fees
All approved returns are subject to a $24 return processing fee. For international orders, duties, taxes, and return fees will be deducted from the original payment.
Shipping Policy
Complimentary shipping is offered on orders over $300. Orders below this threshold are subject to standard shipping rates at checkout.
