Book Review
Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday *audiobook/hardcopy
An in-depth look at the life of Chairman Mao. The information for the book was gathered over the course of 10 years and includes pictures, letters, interviews, and an assortment of other documentation. Beautifully written yet terrible to read. The sheer volume of crimes against humanity willfully perpetrated by Mao is staggering. Particularly difficult to read are the detailed accounts of brutality, such as the horrifying death of President Liu Shaoqi. Not even Mao's family was spared; his second wife was tortured and shot to death in front of their sons after Mao abandoned them, his third wife was driven insane (fourth wife being Madame Mao). Forget what you think you know about how horrendous Mao was, he was much, much worse.
Hands down this is the best book I've read in the past year - and I'm a die hard fiction buff. I just couldn't put it down. Chang and Halliday cover everything from the formation of the CCP, The Long March, Mao's Super Power Project, Stalin, Nixon, and all the wars. The allegiances, the greed, the brutality, the famines, the oppressions - this is a comprehensive look at China over the first 70 years of the 20th century.
I split the book between audio and reading. Mostly b/c I didn't want to put it down and it is a brick. Both formats were enjoyable. I'd recommend this to everyone. The only downer here is that when I raved about Mao to other people, 90% of the time they had no idea who he was.
*headdesk*
*headdesk*
*headdesk*