“Tanvi Madan's Fateful Triangle is a marvelous antidote to historical amnesia. Meticulously demonstrating that China has dogged U.S.-Indian ties since India's independence—eliciting the same hopes and ambiguities that mark the relationship today—this exceptional book will reeducate both scholars and policymakers alike.”—Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace“In this exceptionally well-researched work, Tanvi Madan reveals the Cold War years as anything but a period of estrangement between Washington and New Delhi. In actuality, Indian and American responses to China shaped a constantly evolving U.S.-India understanding, including a robust assistance relationship premised in part on the importance of India's democracy. This insightful, carefully documented diplomatic history provides important lessons for American policymakers today, as a rising India charts its own course against a backdrop of concern about the liberal democratic order. A must-read for anyone interested in Asia, diplomatic history, international relations, the Cold War, and independent India during the twentieth century.”—Alyssa Ayres, senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, Council on Foreign Relations“A groundbreaking study. Fateful Triangle not only enriches our understanding of the history of U.S.-India relations, but also offers powerful insights on the possibilities—and limits—of U.S.-India cooperation in the face of a rising China.”—James B. Steinberg, University Professor, Social Science, International Affairs, and Law, The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University“Fateful Triangle can be an intense déjà vu trip. It's a must-read, given the current situation. Deeply researched via archives and unpublished primary sources, the book delves into diplomatic history literally memo by memo, year by year. China was and remains the big elephant in the room shaping calculations and compulsions for India and the US.”—Seema Sirohi, India Today“Tanvi Madan has given us a fresh and significant look at India-U.S. relations during a critical period. This is an outstanding, rigorous work based on fresh archival material, full of insights for the historian and lessons for the practitioner. One puts it down reluctantly, hoping she will next bring the story up to the present.”—Shivshankar Menon, former foreign secretary of India“A useful guide to the likely limits of future U.S.-Indian collaboration in dealing with China.”—Andrew J. Nathan, Foreign Affairs