Mao

The Unknown Story

De: Jung Chang, Jon Halliday

Narrado por: Robertson Dean

“Ever since the spectacular success of Chang’s Wild Swans we have waited impatiently for her to complete with her husband this monumental study of China’s most notorious modern leader. The expectation has been that she would rewrite modern Chinese history. The wait has been worthwhile and the expectation justified. This is a bombshell of a book.” (Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, in The Times, London)

Based on a decade of research and on interviews with many of Mao’s close circle in China who have never talked before - and with virtually everyone outside China who had significant dealings with him - this is the most authoritative life of Mao ever written. It is full of startling revelations, exploding the myth of the Long March, and showing a completely unknown Mao: he was not driven by idealism or ideology; his intimate and intricate relationship with Stalin went back to the 1920s, ultimately bringing him to power; he welcomed Japanese occupation of much of China; and he schemed, poisoned and blackmailed to get his way.

After Mao conquered China in 1949, his secret goal was to dominate the world. In chasing this dream he caused the deaths of 38 million people in the greatest famine in history. In all, well over 70 million Chinese perished under Mao’s rule - in peacetime.

Combining meticulous research with the story-telling style of Wild Swans, this biography offers a harrowing portrait of Mao’s ruthless accumulation of power through the exercise of terror: his first victims were the peasants, then the intellectuals and, finally, the inner circle of his own advisors. The listeners enters the shadowy chambers of Mao’s court and eavesdrops on the drama in its hidden recesses. Mao’s character and the enormity of his behavior toward his wives, mistresses and children are unveiled for the first time.

This is an entirely fresh look at Mao in both content and approach. It will astonish historians and the general listener alike.

©2005 Jung Chang and Jon Halliday (P)2006 Books on Tape

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Sweeping." (Publishers Weekly)

"Chang and Halliday cast new and revealing light on nearly every episode in Mao's tumultuous life…a stupendous work and one hopes that it will be brought before the Chinese people, who still claim to venerate the man and who have yet to come to terms with their own history...." (Michael Yahuda, The Guardian)

"Boasts a monumental marshaling of detail and historiographically overturning revelations." (Booklist)

Well worth the time

This is an amazing book. It gives you an entirely new perspective on China. Mao's leadership was horrendous. It is hard to conceive of anyone with less concern for human life and suffering. I came away from the book with the realization that China be a much greater economic threat to the United States today if it had not been victimized by Mao.

A must read

This should be a required reading in school so that people can be made aware of the truth about where communist/marxists ideas end up.
They are falsehoods perpetuated by authoritarian dictators and elevate the worst people and the worst in people.
"Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it" is an appropriate quote for where the west sees itself currently. Forms of Mao's practices, such as public shamings are being done in the more subtle manner of pressured public apologies expected by any public figures who transgress the "accepted" ideology as pointed out by a Chinese-American who grew up as a child during Mao's tyrannical reign and is now sounding the alarm.

Our founders didn't want us to have foreign entanglements...and I can see why... from our involvement with Mao, USSR etc....our representatives are very naive ( or arrogant) and seem to always be on the wrong side/backing the wrong people. Kissinger in particular seems to pop up in several bad decisions in our foreign relations. I don't know all of his ideas, but he is Klaus Schwab's mentor and close friend....and that's enough to give me pause....
This book along with The gulag archipelago should be enough to tell you that centralized government is a bad idea, especially a one-party dictatorship where ideas are not debated to weed out the bad from the good ideas and coming to compromises, but bad ideas go on unchecked, wreak havoc and there is no recourse. It breeds corruption and fear which continues to perpetuate bad ideas and actions until collapse.
Every person in this recalling of history was self-seeking and willing to expend the "common" people. That, by demonstration, is not a claimed socialist/communist attitude.
I'm amazed that Mao, up until his death was so full of evil and self-conceit that all he contemplated is vengeance. "...Once to die, and then the judgement." He may have escaped the punishment he deserved in this life for the life he lived and lives he took, but he doesn't escape God.

Extremely illuminating and thought provoking

It's a great book and I'm happy it was written. It does mix facts both well known and new with opinions and speculation and it's particularly hard to tell which is which when listening to it as an audiobook, so recommend reading other sources along with it.

The biography every little socialist should read

I am so glad I Invested the time to learn about one of the great monsters of the 20th Century. Meticulously researched and detailed, one of the most fascinating books I've ever read.

Loved it

Chinese pronunciation is off, but otherwise know that Robertson dean is among the best narrators in the game.

great book

If you want to learn the truth about present day China and the fallacies of communism that you won't learn in school or the media, read this book

Execllent biography of mao's life.

I highly recommend this book. the biography is written very well and dives deep into not just mao's life but those surrounding him and the historical movement that was the communist party.

the performance is also well done, I was never bored. One niggle I had about the reading was that all the Chinese names were miss pronounced. to someone who understands Chinese this was a small irritation, but otherwise a small problem with an otherwise great listen.

devestating, intense, hard, brilliant.

My sympathies to the Chinese people. Excellent biography, the kind that rips the curtains back. Bravo!

Fascinating story, pronunciations detracted

I thoroughly enjoyed this biography and all of the context and sub text that was brought in to help me understand the origins of the CCP and Mao’s rise to power with the backdrop of Chinese and world historical events. As others have pointed out, The readers pronunciation of names and locations sometimes made it difficult to follow the story line. Assuming this book to be thoroughly researched and documented with sources, to have a reader who miss pronounces pretty commonly known names in cities is perplexing.

Still, a very worthwhile book to listen to and I would recommend it to anyone who wants understand how such a sadistic and tyrannically evil person could rule over so many people for so many decades.

Great Biography

This was a great biography about an man glossed over in history or we only learned the hyped versions. Amazingly well sourced, the depths of Mao’s inhumanity is almost beyond comprehension. If you read one book about modern China this should be it.