Mao Zedong and China's Revolutions: A Brief History With Documents

by Timothy Cheek

Whether one views Mao Zedong as a hero or a demon, the "Great Helmsman" was undoubtedly a pivotal figure in the history of 20th-century China. The first part of this volume is an introductory essay that traces the history of 20th-century China, from Mao's early career up to the Chinese Communist Party's victory in 1949, through three decades of revolution, to Mao's death I 1976. The second half offers a selection of Mao's writings—including such seminal pieces as "On the New Democracy" and selections from the "Little Red Book"—and writings about Mao and his legacy by both his contemporaries and modern scholars. Also included are headnotes, a chronology, Questions for Consideration, photographs, a selected bibliography, and index.

Genres: History, China, Nonfiction

276 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2002

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of Mao Zedong's writings from the beginning of his career through the Cultural Revolution. In addition, there is a section on interpreting Mao and his legacy, from Edgar Snow's interview with him in the 1930s to Mao's impact in the 1990s. It's a decent resource for Mao's works, a primer of sorts, since it doesn't include the full text for a couple of the documents. I didn't personally find the interpretive documents to be particularly useful, but they are good for context.

[Kamea]

for school!

[Kat Kryisk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent collection of primary source material, but the editor is in my opinion far too positive in his treatment of Mao. Also I'm totally burnt out on 20th century (especially totalitarian) history, so this wasn't my thing, only read it because of a class.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was for my History of Modern China class. It was well organized and easy to read.