{"product_id":"mao","title":"Mao","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBook info:\u003c\/strong\u003e Mao (Hardcover, 600 pages – Gardners Books, 2005) – Gardners Books, 2005. Language: Eng.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the epilogue to her biography of Mao Tse-tung, Jung Chang and her husband and cowriter Jon Halliday lament that, \"Today, Mao's portrait and his corpse still dominate Tiananmen Square in the heart of the Chinese capital.\" For Chang, author of Wild Swans, this fact is an affront, not just to history, but to decency. The Unknown Story does not contain a formal dedication, but it is clear that Chang is writing to honor the millions of Chinese who fell victim to Mao's drive for absolute power in his 50-plus-year struggle to dominate China and the 20th-century political landscape. From the outset, Chang and Halliday are determined to shatter the \"myth\" of Mao, and they succeed with the force, not just of moral outrage, but of facts. The result is a book, more indictment than portrait, that paints Mao as a brutal totalitarian, a thug, who unleashed Stalin-like purges of millions with relish and without compunction, all for his personal gain. Through the authors' unrelenting lens even his would-be heroism as the leader of the Long March and father of modern China is exposed as reckless opportunism, subjecting his charges to months of unnecessary hardship in order to maintain the upper hand over his rival, Chang Kuo-tao, an experienced military commander. Using exhaustive research in archives all over the world, Chang and Halliday recast Mao's ascent to power and subsequent grip on China in the context of global events. Sino-Soviet relations, the strengths and weakness of Chiang Kai-shek, the Japanese invasion of China, World War II, the Korean War, the disastrous Great Leap Forward, the vicious Cultural Revolution, the Vietnam War, Nixon's visit, and the constant, unending purges all, understandably, provide the backdrop for Mao's unscrupulous but invincible political maneuverings and betrayals. No one escaped unharmed. Rivals, families, peasants, city dwellers, soldiers, and lifelong allies such as Chou En-lai were all sacrificed to Mao's ambition and paranoia. Appropriately, the authors' consciences are appalled. Their biggest fear is that Mao will escape the global condemnation and infamy he deserves. Their astonishing book will go a long way to ensure that the pendulum of history will adjust itself accordingly. --Silvana Tropea 10 Second A Few Words with Jung Chang and Jon Halliday[image] From idea to finished book, how long did The Unknown Story take to research and write? Over a decade. What was your writing process like? How did you two collaborate on this project? The research shook itself out by language. Jung did all the Chinese-language research, and Jon did the other languages, of which Russian was the most important, as Mao had a long-term intimate relationship with Stalin. After our research trips around the world, we would work in our separate studies in London. We would then rendezvous at lunch to exchange discoveries. Do you have any thoughts about how the book is, or will be received in China? Did that play a part in your writing of\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jung Chang","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53103947972832,"sku":"9781856868433","price":84.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/5681\/6608\/files\/41EySSOXihL.jpg?v=1781772504","url":"https:\/\/medicalbook.online\/products\/mao","provider":"medicalbook.online","version":"1.0","type":"link"}