A Plain Sailorman in China: The Life of and Times of Cdr. I.V. Gillis, USN, 1875–1948

This biography recounts the extraordinary life of I. V. Gillis, both as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1894 to 1919 and as a collector of rare Chinese books. China specialist Bruce Swanson captures the colorful, multi-faceted life of the man known as an innovative thinker, tactical practitioner, spy, and successful diplomat. Gillis, a second-generation Naval Academy graduate and the son of an admiral, was hailed a hero while serving aboard his first warship in the Spanish-American War and in 1907 became the first U. S. Naval Attaché to China. He remained in China until his death, marrying a Chinese princess, and collecting books now housed at Princeton University.