Jack Belden (February 3, 1910 in Brooklyn, New York – June 3, 1989 in Paris) was an American war correspondent who covered the Japanese invasion of China, the Second World War in Europe, and the Chinese Civil War in the late 1940s. Belden traveled to the front lines to cover events from the point of view of ordinary soldiers and villagers. He acquired fluent Chinese and in 1942 accompanied General Joseph Stilwell on the Chinese Army's retreat from Burma. After recovering from injuries suffered while covering the Italian campaign, he returned to China. His final book China Shakes the World (1949) initially sold few copies, but was reissued in 1970 and became known as a classic of China reporting. Life After graduating with honors from Colgate University at the beginning of the Depression, Belden found work as a merchant seaman. In 1933, he jumped ship in Shanghai. He learned Chinese and eventually got a job covering local courts for Shanghai's English-language newspapers. After Japan invaded China in 1937, Belden was hired by United Press. Life magazine soon picked him up and he spent most of the Second World War as a correspondent for Time and Life in China, North Africa and Europe. Belden was noted for getting closer to the action than most of the international press corps who, hampered by their inability to speak the language, usually stayed close to official sources of information. The New York Times''' correspondent Tillman Durdin recalled, "Occasionally we were able to get into the field with the Chinese troops and see what was going on. Generally, we relied on Jack Belden and Joseph Stilwell, who collaborated in keeping track of where the Chinese armies were and what they were doing. Jack and Stilwell would plunge off into the hinterland and come back with information about the situation at the front, all of which was made available to us." In 1942, Belden earned some fame for being the only reporter who remained with Stilwell in Burma when the American General and his headquarters staff were cut off by the invading Japanese. Belden's book Retreat With Stilwell (1943) chronicled the journey that "Vinegar Joe", his staff and others made, mostly on foot, to India. Belden went on to cover the war for Life in North Africa and Europe. In North Africa, he covered the British 8th Army's grueling march from Egypt to Tunisia. Again, Belden