The Man Who Lost China is the story of one man’s defiance of Senator McCarthy, the little known tale of McCarthyism’s first defeat. McCarthy called Owen Lattimore the top Russian agent, but Lattimore’s withering disdain began a fight back. Lattimore was McCarthy’s first target, proof of State Department communist infiltration. But Lattimore never worked at State. This was McCarthy’s template: tales too good to check, in such volume media couldn’t keep up. McCarthy made wild claims against a man few knew, then scrambled for something resembling proof, aided by mysterious right wing funds. Lattimore’s stand against the lies sparked a Senate vote labeling McCarthy a hoax. The Man Who Lost China is the first in depth examination of one man’s struggle and survival against anti communist hysteria.