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Summary: Mad Mao
Comment: This book was a xmas gift. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. It persuades me that Mao was as sociopathic as Hitler and that his works were on balance as evil as Stalin's and that he used the same kind of terror and disinformation to advance and secure his ends. There are now hundreds of reader reviews of this book outstanding, so I haven't much to add.
First of all, the authors do not appear to be knee-jerk anticommunists. For example, they describe Lauchlin Curry as sympathetic toward communism, not a secret communist agent. I think they get that right.
The great strength of this book is its use of soviet sources/archives. Its weakness is that it is not sufficiently critical of them or of any of its other sources that support its authors' thesis. One reviewer has already mentioned their idiosyncratic interpretation/narration of the Quemoy/Matsu crisis -- i.e., it was all about Russia.
Another case, which is easy to check from publicly available sources, they claim that the Korean War caused US aircraft losses in excess of replacement rates, 3000 in the first year of the war. While this claim is relevant to their argument, it's not true. The US lost about 2,000 planes in the entire Korean War. Only 10 percent of these losses were in air-to-air combat. During the same period it produced about 20,000 military aircraft.
However, no book is perfect.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Oh My Lord!
Comment: The book is sooooooooooooooo silly it reminds me that a hammer takes everything for nails. The authors did a grave disservice to their own cause. A slight pretension of impartiality would have fared better!
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Summary: Hitler, Mao...
Comment: I find it incredible that so many clearly intellectual people and 'experts', as well as laymen, appear to be lining up to cast aspersions on this book. They have the luxury of doing this, living in the West where freedom of speech allows the robust defense of the worst of despots. I think that many of these reviews demonstrate the reality of the myth of Mao, the pseudo-deity, as so many people seem to be dismissing this book because it did not search for the good in Mao, or consider that his policies were due to a genuine belief that his actions were best for his people.
Hitler believed that the Jews and many other groups were subhuman, and that it was best for the German people for them to be removed - does this make his actions less evil or more justifiable? I think not. So why should this argument be made by so many regarding Mao? Germany is now a strong country with influence and affluence; does this mean that Hitler had a positive contribution to Germany's unity and current power? There are some that might say so (let me be clear, I would not be one of them), but I don't think they would be given the credence that the reviewers of this book are for saying similar things about Mao.
Mao was well aware of the human cost of his policies - about the endless murders, the torture, the rape, the starvation, the absolute wretchedness of his own people - and he didn't care, he actually reveled in it, and only cared that he got what he wanted, which was unreasoning, absolute power and deification. Even if his policies had been motivated by thinking that he knew best for the Chinese people, so what? If one of our own leaders aspired to this, we would be vociferous in our criticism; why have a different standard for Mao?
My view is that Jung Chang has written an uncompromising and courageous biography of Mao, based on personal experience and research, that will hopefully continue to expose him for the despot he was.
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Summary: The worst-case scenario of Mao
Comment: This book picks up its three stars because of the depth of research its authors did in search of new dirt on Mao, but that's a more limited positive than you might think. The book is so slanted against Mao that it's of almost no use to any reader without a deep pre-existing knowledge of Mao's life and history.
You would need that history to have a perspective on which of Chang and Halliday's accusations to take seriously, which might offer new revelations, and which should be dismissed as stretched truths or fabrications. In this entire long book, there is nary a complimentary statement about Mao to be found. I am perfectly willing to believe that Mao's rise and reign in China were a tragedy for the country and its people, but it's impossible to believe that a person could impact the world on the scale Mao did without some characteristics of leadership, intelligence and cunning.
Chang and Halliday would have you believe that an evil person, of no particular leadership ability, with no military skill, of average intelligence somehow schemed his way to being the leader of the most populous country on earth. That simply doesn't add up.
If you know Mao's story well and want to know what the average anti-Mao Chinese thought of the man, this is truly a good source based on primary research. If, however, you are looking for an objective overview of Mao's life, his rise to power, and his reign over China and its consequences, you'll have to keep looking.
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Summary: Why blame the authors for their bias?
Comment: Mao: The Unknown Story deserves some attention. For those weary of Mao history, perhaps one more book will not make a difference. All histories are ultimately subjective. Some more than others. Jung Chang did not undertake this book to make Mao a nice person. Instead, it gives us as all books do - some insight into historical leaders. Does the book lack a balanced perspective? Sometimes. Does this invalidate the book? Certainly not. Did she and Jon Halliday do their homework? Definitely. Could the book have been better? Sure, in some places, Jung's appraisal of Mao's character (especially in the early years) feels more opinionated than observed. After all, people change and do evolve, and making certain definitive statements about how Mao was like even as a young man - may be jumping the gun and could have been better tempered. I think this what the critics of this book are responding to.
I have yet to read a Chinese history book that was happy. So let's face the facts - 20th century China went through a massive upheaval and shock. That they've been able to bounce back and become today's superpower has little to do with Mao, who liberated the nation but subjected it to his harsh ideologies. The men who succeeded Mao's leadership have to take some credit for where it is now - not Mao alone. He took them out of one darkness into another, and set the tone for the other country's leaders to improve on the country's fortunes. This is my response to those that say that "Mao did it all in spite of being a mass murderer." Mao had a friendly smile but he was brutal, so I am more than okay with an author who wants to address that point. The book is clearly a labour of love or hate that the authors committed themselves to bringing to the public.
GET THIS BOOK IF...
a) You like reading about power and understanding why China is the way it is today. This is a good study into power and how Mao shaped (and subverted) Chinese politics. His political legacies are still felt, making this a relevant read. + 1 point for addressing the Chinese psyche.
b) You want a clear, readable text. This isn't a dense, academic text. The writing is straightforward but the facts speak for themselves most of the time. + 1 point for writing style and organisation.
c) You want to understand Mao but not worry too much about other details. The book focusses mainly on Mao and doesn't divert too much into the other Chinese politicians so be aware of that. More research may be needed on them. 0.5 points for their backstories.
d) You need to know how Korea, SE Asia and Russia figured in China's development and vice versa.
Historical scholars will find this interesting, especially if they're into Asian or Chinese history. The book is 616 pages long with an additional 184 pages devoted to footnotes, research sources and indexes. + 1 point for usefulness.
e) You have read other Mao books and need more. If you have read other Mao bios, and want more details, this provides more clarity on certain things - e.g. his unwieldy relationships with Russia. + 1 point for delineating new info.
NOW - If you're new to Mao, do some basic reading on him first before jumping into this. Casual readers may appreciate this more with some background googling on Mao first. It's not a bad place to start, but you do need to know more about Chinese history to fully appreciate where Jung Chang is coming from sometimes. Characters like Sun Yat Sen aren't discussed in much detail so have your google ready.
Perhaps too much of modern China has been seen through Mao's rule but he remains its most visible personality and prism for now. Nonetheless, this is not an all-round introduction of modern China and will assume you understand some aspects. If not, I'd also recommend another Chinese history book to help you fill in the gaps as well. However, Mao Tse Tung cannot be ignored and Mao: The Unknown Story merits a look.
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