Mao Zedong

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On sale Feb 02, 2000 | 5 Hours and 54 Minutes | 9781415910603

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Born in rural China in 1893, Mao Zedong led his country through "a long-drawn-out adventure in upheaval." In the process, he became one of the monumental figures of the twentieth century. He died in 1976, just as China was entering a détente with the United States. This excellent biography illuminates Mao's family life, his early years as a revolutionary, and his brief paradoxical flirtation with capitalism. Jonathan Spence, author of 11 books on Chinese history, provides both a panoramic portrait of China and a private portrait of the man at the center of so many historic events. Using sources not readily available, he penetrates the complex persona of Chairman Mao to provide an intimate view of a chilling enigma.

"Spence is the best known and most talented historian of China writing in English today . . . displaying an inventive ability to derive both meaning and narrative from episodes of Chinese history that are little known in the West."—Los Angeles Times
Foreword
Acknowledgments

1. A Child of Hunan

2. Self-Strengthening

3. Casting Around

4. Into the Party

5. Workers and Peasants

6. The Long Retreat

7. Crafting the Image

8. Taking Over

9. The Ultimate Vision

10. Bleak Harvest

11. Fanning the Flames

12. Embers

Notes

Jonathan Spence's eleven books on Chinese history include The Gate of Heavenly Peace, Treason by the Book, and The Death of Woman Wang. His awards include a Guggenheim and a MacArthur Fellowship. He teaches at Yale University. View titles by Jonathan Spence

About

Born in rural China in 1893, Mao Zedong led his country through "a long-drawn-out adventure in upheaval." In the process, he became one of the monumental figures of the twentieth century. He died in 1976, just as China was entering a détente with the United States. This excellent biography illuminates Mao's family life, his early years as a revolutionary, and his brief paradoxical flirtation with capitalism. Jonathan Spence, author of 11 books on Chinese history, provides both a panoramic portrait of China and a private portrait of the man at the center of so many historic events. Using sources not readily available, he penetrates the complex persona of Chairman Mao to provide an intimate view of a chilling enigma.

"Spence is the best known and most talented historian of China writing in English today . . . displaying an inventive ability to derive both meaning and narrative from episodes of Chinese history that are little known in the West."—Los Angeles Times

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments

1. A Child of Hunan

2. Self-Strengthening

3. Casting Around

4. Into the Party

5. Workers and Peasants

6. The Long Retreat

7. Crafting the Image

8. Taking Over

9. The Ultimate Vision

10. Bleak Harvest

11. Fanning the Flames

12. Embers

Notes

Author

Jonathan Spence's eleven books on Chinese history include The Gate of Heavenly Peace, Treason by the Book, and The Death of Woman Wang. His awards include a Guggenheim and a MacArthur Fellowship. He teaches at Yale University. View titles by Jonathan Spence

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