During the height of the Cold War in the 1950s the small island of Quemoy in the Taiwan Strait was the front line in the military standoff between Chiang Kai-shek's Republic of China and Mao Zedong's People's Republic. Local society and culture were dramatically transformed. Michael Szonyi uses oral history, official documents, and dissident writings to convey the history of the island during this period. In so doing, he sheds light on the social and cultural impact of the Cold War on those who lived through it, as well as on the relationship between China, the United States and the USSR at this critical moment. By analysing the effects of Quemoy's distinctive geopolitical situation on the economy, gender and the family, and citizenship and religion, the book provides a new perspective on the social history of Cold War relations, showing how geopolitics can affect individual lives and communities.

1949年10月24日，金门岛，解放军对国民党军作战失败。一胜一败，而有今日台湾。有争议的评价，不公正的结论。浴血激战三昼夜，没齿不忘六十六春秋。前敌总指挥萧锋将军后人打破沉默，辑十多年资料积累，以纪事本末体，全方位、全过程展现金门战役，以及其后两岸战争与和平的脉络。