Books for/about - Mao

Publisher: Knopf
Authors: Jung Chang Jon Halliday

ISBN: 0679422714
List Price: $35.00
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 3
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Summary: The grain of salt
Having read _Mao: the Unknown Story_ and the previous reviews of this book on Amazon, a few points leap out.

*This is a sensational and hostile tome, unyielding in its basic idea that Mao was a heartless sociopathic opportunitist. Although it has some of the trappings of a biography, it's little more than a laundry list of China's unfortunate sufferings (both individual and collectively) under this maniac's grip. For this reason, it's not a cogent biography or history book as other reviews have amply pointed out. In sum, context is lacking. For this reason, it's not a very good read.

*What emmerges is the life narrative of a reptilian-brained, lustful, wicked hypocrite who looked after only his own benefit and steadily developed a method of duping and double-cossing everyone around him. Mao is portrayed as first latching on to ideological revolution to hoist himself from his farming background, engaging in cynically-designed military blundering in the war against the Nationalists to kill off his rivals (or erstwhile comrades) in the red army, and then graduating to wholescale massacre of millions under his domain through purges and starvation (while he constructed bomb-shelter palaces to his liking, ate well, enjoyed books and operas and romped with a bevvy of girlfriends).

*Although the book isn't simply a useless collection of trash and lies as some reviewers have stated, a careful look at the copious source notes indicates the authors have allowed lies and agendas to creep into their work. I think what this "Mao" gives us is the grain of salt to add to any deep study of Mao's life. As other reviewers have suggested, this book shouldn't be read as the first and last word on Mao but rather a caustic suppliment to existing biographic work.

As the interview with the authors on this website points out, this book is intended to provoke discussion among historians (almost a challenge to historians to disprove the heinous litany).

*This book is valuable in spite of it's flaws. It opens with the following sentence: "Mao ... was responsible for well over 70 million deaths in peacetime." It then concludes, in the terse epilogue, with these sentences: "Today, Mao's portrait and his corpse still dominate Tiananmen Square ... The current communist regime declares itself to be Mao's heir and fiercely perpetuates the myth of Mao." What exists between these two statements is a generation of murder, darkness and insanity that the authors undoubtedly feel China (and the rest of the word) still needs to come to terms with as it steadily emmerges as the powerhouse of the 21st century. The fact that the authors were able to unearth so much previously unknown information indicates that this process is already well underway and this book represents a kind of long-overdue denunciation of the man who rose to the top by denunciating or killing anyone who stood in his way.

Summary: A shameless Chinese
As a Chinese, I am really feel shamed to have people like Chang from China. Just like so many fake medicine, pirate version DVD, CD, and the notorious "Dragon Heart" of the faked CPU project which even got national award in China, I don't know why there are so many cheaters like Chang in or from China.
Mao made great crime to Chinese, but this should not be used as an excuse to lie. This books is full of lie, just like many similar book written by oversea Chinese, the purporse of this kind of book is simply make sensation, and make great money. Those people who bought their books is joked as "Yuan Da Tou" in Chinese which means fools who like to spend money by cheated.
To lie in court is crime, I don't know why writing book by lying is not crime. If every writer are free to lie, I don't know who in the end will buy books.
Buying this book is like to support lying in book.

Summary: Unscholarly, retreads same old ground
I had to put this book down after a couple hundred pages. I am not sympathetic to the left in any way, but this book is very weak. There are no footnotes. As another reviewer said, the authors lay into Mao on page one and don't stop. Could your point of view be a little more transparent please?

Essentially, they argue that Mao is an opportunistic, incompetent, sadist. He wanted to have power in order to be cruel, but it he came to power despite himself and his bumbling actions.

So what is their agenda? What does it prove if Mao was not a true believer, contrary to all the evidence? Would the famines have been better if Mao "really" believed what he said?

Don't buy this confused, amateurish pop-history book.

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The Communist Manifesto and Other Revolutionary Writings: Marx, Marat, Paine, Mao Tse-Tung, Gandhi and Others

Publisher: Dover Publications
Authors: Robert Blaisdell Bob Blaisdell Marx Gandhi

ISBN: 0486424650
List Price: $3.50
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Summary: NIce Anthology for a nice Price
For 3.50 you cannot go wrong with this Dover Anthology of revolutionary writings. Spanning the American, French, Russian and Chinese revolutions it offers a broad range from Rousseau to Paine and Mao. One of the best advantages of this edition is that it offers many speeches and small writings that normally would have to be tracked down in a library. Though there are not many completed revolutionary texts in this edition, you have to remember that it is under 5 dollars and that similar, larger anthologies also do not include that manny completed texts. So if you are interested in revolutionary writings this book would be the perfect introduction for you.

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	Modern Cryptography: Theory and Practice Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR Authors: Wenbo Mao
ISBN: 0130669431 List Price: $59.99 Amazon Price: $37.79 Usually ships in 24 hours Buy this book from amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk	Avg Cusomer Rating: 4 Reviews: Summary: It's a College TextBook It's a pretty good one too, but it's still a college text. The orientation of this book is far more theoretical than practical, complete with abstract mathematical notation that sometimes does more to confuse than to elucidate (although the author, to his credit, includes a glossary of mathematical notation early in the text). Still, the book is complete and up-to-date, covering everything from probability theory and number theory through the latest stuff on PKI, symmetric crypto (including AES), and authentication. Cryptography is not an easy subject, and this book will take a while to wade through for all but the most mathematically astute readers. Nonetheless, for those wanting a "deep dive" into the theoretical underpinnings of the subject, this is a good book. Security practitioners will likely find Schneier's "Applied Cryptography" an easier, more enjoyable, and equally beneficial read, although it is due for an update. Summary: Good reference, poorly edited What's great about Mao's book is that so many aspects of cryptography are covered in an approachable manner and with many good examples. What's not so great about Mao's book is that it is chock full of errors. There are many mathematical typos. But what really kills this book for me are the ridiculous number of English mistakes - on average about two or three per page. Most mistakes are simple grammatical mistakes that can be re-parsed by the reader on the fly. However, there are more serious errors that make it very difficult to understand the meaning of significant passages and concepts. Given Mao's refreshing conversational style it's a real shame that Prentice Hall couldn't come up with some decent editing. Hopefully a second edition will fix this. Summary: Best of all Excellent,the best of all modern treatment on this subject,All in one guide. Not for beginner.Icluded are many new features as ID based,Pairing,Provable security etc. Nguyen Quoc Nam Summary:

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Mao: A Life

Publisher: Owl Books
Authors: Philip Short

ISBN: 0805066381
List Price: $25.00
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 4
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Summary: A fine and comprehensive view of Mao's life and career - quite sympathetic to Mao
This is now the standard life of Mao, but for me it was like reading a history of the Cuban Missile Crisis that still talked about how Kennedy stared down Khrushchev without mentioning the secret deal for the U.S. to remove missiles from Turkey. That is, it is sympathetic to the point of touting an official line at the expense of giving us the full story. Still, it is useful to know what the official line is and this is a good life of Mao from his youth through his entire career.

Personally, I consider Mao one of the great killers of the 20th century, but I also know that most Chinese do not see him that way. There are some who see him as a monster for what he did to hundreds of millions of people while he ruled China and for the tens of millions who died because of his policies. Short always has a ready excuse to absolve Mao of direct evil, even while admitting that Mao is indeed responsible. The Chinese I have spoken to who admire Mao do so because of his strength in freeing China from the West and making China into a world power.

China has a history of strong emperors who ruled with an iron fist and under whose rule many people died. Mao was a great student of Chinese history and new how to appeal to its themes and traditions. In the Chinese view, they have plenty of people, and if some die and China becomes strong, so be it. Mao played on this sensibility to the hilt. However, I am not Chinese and am free to judge him according to my lights and for me he was one of the greatest monsters of all time. Anyone who condemns ANY American leader in our history as a killer or a monster and yet praises Mao is a hypocrite beyond the power of the word to convey a strong enough level of hypocrisy. But my view isn't the view of this book or the view of the Chinese and they should have the leaders they want. It is their nation and culture after all. And this book will give you a view of Mao more in line with how he is viewed by the country he helped re-create than the critical books such as "The Unknown Mao" or "The Private Life of Chairman Mao" (which are often attacked by people who support Mao - however, the details of most of the horrible events described do show up in even this biography if you read closely and look past the airbrushing).

The book does read well and will likely lead the unwary into feeling admiration for this man. He certainly was an amazing man and one of great genius. Whether you see him as a hero worthy of veneration or one of the great monsters in history, Mao is certainly an historic figure that one should know. Reading across the spectrum of views is probably the best way to get a more true picture of the man and his career than you will get from either his supporters or his detractors. So, this would be a good candidate for one of the kinder views of Mao that is still authoritative and fairly comprehensive.

Summary: Interesting, but neutral and some what sympathetic
To begin with this was a very interesting book, however it glosses over and is neutral when it comes to discussing the atrocities and policies that Mao pioneered and carried out. I would recommend that anyone who is interested in Modern Chinese history read this. However I woul also recommend, and for me a far more insightful biography is the one written by Jung Chang, the unknown Mao. Prehaps it is a cultural problem, Philip Short was not directly affected by Mao Jung Chang was. I have been living, studying and working in China for over 8 years and this is helping me understand more about chinese history, from a chinese point of view, rather than from a western point of view.

Summary: Brilliant Strategist, Poor Administrator
Few have had so much influence on the lives of so many people. Who was this man? It is impossible to answer that question without knowing something about China. Mao was an emperor. It is no secret that Mao patterned himself after the Qin emperor. Like the Qin emperor, he despised Confucius. And like the Qin Emperor, he was ruthless in the implementation of his vision for China. Mao was so full of contradictions which seemed somehow to make sense. His rhetoric seemed to indicate a disregard for the common people, yet as a revolutionary, he treated peasants well, to win their support. He governed a party structure that was almost Puritanical in it's expectations, yet he lived a profoundly promiscuous life.

Lord Acton said that, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." I believe that this is key to understanding what happened to Mao. To be sure, Mao had some pretty wacky ideas from the very beginning. But he seemed to deteriorate as his power increased. One of the main problems with the early Communist party is that there was no way to balance power. Mao saw to this, but the Party allowed him to. This book does an excellent job of demonstrating the steady downward pattern of this sickness. It culminated in the Cultural Revolution, and the defining moment is the point where Liu Shao Qi, the president of China, comes to Mao, who has no power, but has used his status as a cultural icon to destroy the country, and literally overthrow the government. Liu literally begs for his life. He asks to be allowed to leave government and return to his home community. What unearthly cowardice would bring the president of any country to the place where he would have to beg for his life from someone who wasn't even in a legitimate position of authority? This, more than any other phenomenon, illustrates the weakness of the party structure. Mao's response to Liu was terse, "Take care o f yourself." A few days later, Liu's phone line was cut; shortly afterward he was placed in solitary confinement to begin a time of imprisonment that would end in his death when he was refused proper medical treatment.

But I don't want to ramble on about Mao. What I want to do, briefly, is to point out what I feel are the unique strengths of this book"

1. It is well researched and well documented. The first thing you will notice about this book is the scholarly manner in which it is put together.

2. This book gives the best analysis of the Korean War that I have read. It lets you see the road to war and the development of the conflict from the Chinese-Soviet-North Korean side of the conflict.

3. It is objective. There are two kinds of personalities, simple and complex. Mao was a complex personality. Deng Xiao-ping was much simpler. (I am talking about personality, now, not intellect.) Because of the complex nature of Mao's personality, it is very hard to deal with him objectively. Philip Short does an excellent job of looking at Mao in a cool-headed manner.

4. It is exhaustive. This book covers the whole span of history surrounding Mao's life. It does not leave out critical details. Key events are given full treatment.

5. The pictures are good, very clear, and well labeled. And there are lots of them.

Having said all this, the book will probably be easier for you to understand if you have some previous knowledge of the key players. I bought this book a number of years ago, and started reading it, but I quit. I went on to other things. When I finally dusted it off last fall (2005) and decided to read it, it just seemed to go much faster. Part of that was because I had read Jonathan Fenby's book (Chiang Kai Shek : China's Generalissimo and the Nation He Lost) last spring. But there were actually quite a number of good books dealing with some of the key personalities that I had read between the first time I tried to read this one, and last fall when I finally got around to doing the job. You don't have to follow my example, but if this is your first book about Mao, do yourself a favor, and spend a little time reading up on the Dramatis Personae. There is an excellent list of them in the back of the book. Five stars; Philip Short is a first-rate scholar.

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Mao's Last Dancer

Publisher: Berkley Trade
Authors: Li Cunxin

ISBN: 0425201333
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
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Summary: Emotionally powerful and well written
Li's book ws an amazing journey through his life. Given that I was playing in the Houston Ballet Orchestra when he came to the US and Houston, it was especially enlightening to me because I really had no idea what was going on in his life at the time; I only saw the superb dancing and a very nice individual. Lois Kannwischer

Summary: I wish there was 4.5 stars!
This book is a fascinating read. I was captivated from page one. My 13 year old daughter loved it too. "Mao's Last Dancer" showed a side of China of priviledge mixed with poverty.

Summary: Loved It
The words heart warming, touching and inspirational have already been used to describe this book but that is what it is from beginning to end

A feel good read.

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	Becoming Madame Mao Publisher: Mariner Books Authors: Anchee Min
ISBN: 0618127003 List Price: $13.00 Amazon Price: $10.01 Usually ships in 24 hours Buy this book from amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk	Avg Cusomer Rating: 1 Reviews: Summary: Her story is boring Most Americans know a little about China, especially the history during Culture Revolution, and most distinguished Chinese writers can't write in English, therefore, Anchee has chance to get well known in the US. However, her novel is quite superficial both in English and Chinese. If it is translated into Chinese, I am afraid very few people would buy it since the story is boring. Additionally, she claimed to be trained in a studio organized by Jiang, Ching, Madam Mao. I doubt the truthfulness about something claimed by her in the story. There is no official materials to support it. I bet American will understand China better if many excellent Chinese novels can be translated in English. One example is Chinese resturants in the US. Generally, they can not be claimed as original Chinese foods, they are just adapted to the taste of some Americans, which explains why most Chinese do not like most of so called Chinese resturants in the US. If Americans have been to China, they will definitely like foods there better. I met Anchee a couple of times previously when she sold her books. Summary: A story of survival. Madame Mao has remained one of the most hated and yet unknown figures of Chinese History. Anchee Min tries to explore this woman's personality and the reasons why she acted the way she did.As an opera singer/actress, she was forced to endure discrimination.However, she was able to acomodate herself to the social and political changes that affected China during that period of time. She managed to survive. Was she acting purely out of personal ambition or was she really in love with Mao? Her story is full of surprises and her ending is extremely sad. A good novel that brings us to the world of a most controversial character. Summary: Madame Mao flip-flop style Actually the reviewer Candace wrote an excellent review. However I think people need warned again (this is already mentioned in the primary review) that the nature of telling this story flip-flops between being told as "first person" & then "third person" which gets you a bit dizzy keeping up. Perhaps it was meant to contrast the duplicity of this woman of many names but it can be annoying. Read it as a bit of fanciful history, or just as a good novel... either way it certianly was entertianing. Summary:

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The Private Life of Chairman Mao: The Memoirs of Mao's Personal Physician Dr. Li Zhisui

Publisher: Random House
Authors: Zhi-Sui Li

ISBN: 0679400354
List Price: $30.00
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 3
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Summary: Interesting, but over rated!
I have not yet finished reading this rather interesting account by Chairman Mao's doctor. Though it is interesting it is rather one sided, and rather biased in the narrative. The previous reviews rave about it. Well I think that though this book will help you to understand modern China, Chairman Mao and the Chinese people, but it is over rated good , but not that brilliant or wonderful. Read other books about Mao, such as Philip Short's Mao a life and the unknown Mao by Jiang Chang to get a deeper and more balanced perspective.

Summary: Incredible.
As far as historical testimony goes, the confessions and remembrances of Mao's physician, Dr. Li, add immeasurably to our estimation of who precisely "The Great Helmsman" was. The saying, "no man is a hero to his valet," does not begin to describe the disdain with which an old school gentleman like Dr. Li felt in regards to the harem mastering Mao; a man who made use of whatever and whoever was put before him. The doctor's realistic view of Mao was in striking contrast to the one held by the masses. Unfortunately, the narrative starts after the revolution is finished so Li is not able to inform us as to the way in which power actually corrupted the Chairman. How much the negative attributes of his personality were on display before he became the supreme leader is not evident. The difficulty of Mao's personality and his sadism cannot be questioned, however. Life, and daily interaction with people, was simply a way in which Mao could fulfill his need to play with the fate of others. Dr. Li's portrait of Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, resonates strongly...and horrifically. She truly was a white boned demon. I cannot imagine how one could deal with so vile a person on a regular basis. The suffering which she put China through causes one to shudder. It's a wonder why Mao tolerated her behavior and actions. As for Dr. Li, he truly led a terrible existence which was consumed by fright, anxiety, and having to deal with minds so irrational it is astonishing he was able to survive as long as he did. He was nothing but an indentured servant to Mao. The narrator could not do what he wanted, think what he wanted, or even spend much time with his family. His decision to return to China from Australia was personally disastrous, but this tome is a wonderful gift to man on the whole. We remain forever indebted to Dr. Li for his sacrifice and taking the time to record the nightmare which he experienced.

Summary: Fascinating socio-medical memoir
Dr. Li Zhisui was Mao Zedong's personal physician for the last twenty-two years of the Chairman's life. The subject of his recollection is not the vigorous, charismatic visionary of The Long March, but an unappetizing codger who refuses to bathe, except in the vaginal fluids of females. Mao apparently subscribed to a Daoist belief that having sex with a succession of young women would increase his longevity. And he did, nightly, in apartments blocked from public view by the walls of the Forbidden City. His conquests gave him a sense of immortality; he, in turn, gave them venereal disease. The Great Helmsman, Dr. Li concludes, "lived an appalling private life."

Mao, Li asserts, did not have the intellectual equipment to lead China into the modern world. While cunning, he possessed the mind of a peasant rooted in the Nineteenth Century. When his naïve economic theories caused mass starvation, his response was periodic depression during which he would take to bed, rethink his position and come back refreshed -- though not necessarily with better ideas. Mao seems to have ruled with a Yoda-like vagueness. Like FDR, whom he admired, he never worried about contradicting himself. While publicly reviling capitalist roaders, he was nonetheless charmed by President Richard Nixon whose right-wing bluntness he preferred to Leftist waffling.

Li saves some of his most scathing criticism for Madame Mao, Jiang Qing, whose behavior he describes as "nearly psychotic." A woman of ravenous ambition with no constructive outlet, she exerted her will through hypochondria and hysteria, alternatively manipulating and terrorizing Mao's domestic staff. (She demanded her husband's bodyguards iron her silk underwear.) Li's name was linked with hers romantically for a time, but he managed to persuade the Chairman that the rumor was baseless. During her destructive political ascent, Li attests, Jiang made arrangements to extend her own longevity with transfusions of blood from healthy young males. She tried, without success, to have the doctor purged; he finally succeeded, plotting with others, to have her arrested.

On balance, Li presents himself as a patriot disillusioned by the Communist revolution and bitter since catering to Mao ultimately thwarted his dreams of practicing neurosurgery. (He expatriated to the U.S. in 1988.) The reader has to accept this at face value since, it seems, all traces of Li's name and service have been wiped out of the official record in Beijing. (He restores it in part with photos of his own taken with Mao and his inner circle.) I also found myself wondering about the passages of dialogue that would seem impossible to recreate without benefit of a tape recorder. Dr. Li kept detailed notes, forty volumes of them, which he burned in 1966 for fear of discovery. Ten years later, he proceeded to reconstruct them. But is anyone's memory that reliable? And what of medical confidentiality? Is that a concept unknown in China, or are all bets off if your patient was a head of state? The fact is, we all love tell-alls and in this instance, the teller sheds light on this convulsive chapter in Chinese history. The cast of characters is so large that only a Sinologist could fully appreciate their significance, but for the rest of us, The Private Life of Chairman Mao is a lively and engrossing read.

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Mao II: A Novel

Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Authors: Don DeLillo

ISBN: 0140152741
List Price: $14.00
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 2
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Summary: I just didn't get it
The first hundred or so pages of the novel are fairly interesting and easy to get through but from there the book seams to go nowhere. I had a very hard time trying to get through the rest of the novel as it meanders towards its anticlimactic ending. Yes there is some beautiful writing and keen social observations but all and all it was quite dull. It was disappointed after reading the previous reviews and hearing good things about this book I found myself trying to like but it was just too slow paced for me.

Summary: Self-indulgent
I was impressed by the writer's skill in creating beautiful prose. However, I did not get anything else out of the book. Forgettable characters, thin plot, endless descriptions, and ultimately dull. Seemed like the writer was writing the book for himself and no one else. Rated two stars because of writer's talent and because I enjoyed the first half. Take three stars off for the meandering second half and my other complaints.

Summary: The Power of Crowds: Is Resistance Futile?
Mao II is a masterpiece of contemporary fiction. In Delillo's canon, I rate it better than White Noise and on par with his massive opus, Underworld. Despite Mao II's relative brevity, the denseness of ideas contained within are staggering. This was easily one of the best books of the 1990's, if not the last quarter century. Right up there with Mason & Dixon, American Pastoral, and a few select other masterworks.

While the novel is composed of characters who appear, for the most part, throughout the story, the book is structured more as a series of vingettes. Delillo deals with many themes, but the primary one, I think, is the struggle between the individual and the 'masses' in contemporary society. In this regard, he traverses the same terrain as Marcuse in "One Dimensional Man" and Canetti in "The Power of Crowds". And, he does it on a global scale: touching upon everything from a Moonie wedding, to the rise of the Ayatollah in Iran, Chairman Mao in China, and of course, contemporary American society.

Other themes are: the power of images, terrorism and the narrative power of terrorists (this is 9 years before 9/11), the role of the artist (writer, photographer, etc), true belief, teachers and apprentices, and censorship, state and otherwise. All this woven together concisely with his meticulously sculpted sentences. I often pick up this book and randomly re-read various chapters; in this fashion, I've probably read the entire book 5 times.

Lastly, I've debated with friends whether Delillo's vision in Mao II is a bleak one or a hopeful one. Like the old "Lady and the Tiger" fable, it probably comes down to who you are more than any clear answer from him. However, I think the wedding scene at the end (against very dire circumstances that I won't give away here) points to at least some optimism for individuals (while providing a nice 'barbelling' of the novel with the mass wedding at the book's beginning).

That's just my take, but anyone reading this work will push their brains outward, regardless of their predispositions.

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