Impact of Coincidence in Modern American, British, and Asian History

Bruce A. Elleman received his BA from UC Berkeley in 1982, his MA in 1984, a master of philosophy degree in 1987, an East Asian Certificate in 1988, and his Ph.D. in 1993 at Columbia University. In addition, he completed a master of sciences degree at the London School of Economics in 1985, and a master of arts in national security and strategic studies (with distinction) at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, in 2004.

“Bruce Elleman’s new book is a concise and useful addition to the otherwise larger studies on twentieth-century world history. His book presents twenty-one coincidental episodes that the author suggests may have changed the course of history. He lets the reader decide. This short book revisits many familiar topics that are presented in new ways, challenging readers to ask new questions. The importance of this book lies in the author’s posing alternative possibilities for historical causation.” — Robert Antony, Professor, Shandong University, China

• Introduction: The Unintentional Role of Coincidence in History; 1) Secret U.S. Plans to Absorb Hawaii and Guam (1897); 2) Alfred Thayer Mahan Invents Island-hopping (1911); 3) Yuan Shikai Preapproves Japan’s “21 Demands”(1915); 4) Gallipoli’s Unexpected Connection to the Arme; ian Genocide (1915); 5) The Historical Importance of 7 December 1902/1917/1941; 6) The Halifax Explosion and Unification of the U.S. and British Navies (1917); 7) Woodrow Wilson’s Clerical Error and the May Fourth Movement in China (1919); 8) Soviet Gold Mining and the Sudden End to the Mongolian Gold Rush (1924); 9) The Soviet Great Purges and Gulags as a Reaction to Japan’s Immigration Policies in Manchukuo (1937); 10) Secret Western Manipulations behind Japan’s Pearl Harbor Attack (1941); 11) The True Origin of the Kamikazes (1944); 12) Why the Kurile Islands Were Disputed After World War II (1945); 13) How Secret Yalta Talks Resulted in Post-War Soviet Colonization (1945); 14) Secret Negotiations of the Sino-Soviet Border (1945); 15) The CIA Argument for Why China Should be Allowed to Become Communist (1948); 16) Both North Vietnamese Tonkin Gulf Attacks Were Perhaps Real (1964); 17) The U.S. Anti-Soviet Blockade during the Vietnam War (1965); 18) The Secret U.S. Anti-SAM Strategy in the Vietnam War (1966); 19) The 3 March 1969 Creation of the Top Gun School (1969); 20) The Real “Signaling” History of the 4 May 1970 Kent State Massacre (1970); 21) The Secret Agreement that May Have Really Ended the Vietnam War (1975); Conclusions: The Profound Influence of Coincidental History on Twentieth-Century History; Selected Bibliography; About the Author; Index