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Mao: The Unknown Story
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Mao: The Unknown Story
$3000
$3499
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Based on a decade of research, and on interviews with many of Mao's close circle in China who have never talked before - and everyone outside China who had significant dealings with him, this book is the story of the life of Mao. It is full of revelations, exploding the myth of the Long March, and showing completely unknown Mao.
The most authoritative life of Mao ever written, by the bestselling author of Wild Swans and her husband
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Description
Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday is a groundbreaking biography that offers an unprecedented look into the life of Mao Zedong, the founding father of the People's Republic of China. This meticulously researched book, written by the celebrated author of Wild Swans, Jung Chang, and her husband, historian Jon Halliday, sheds new light on one of modern history's most enigmatic and controversial figures.
Based on a decade of exhaustive research and including interviews with individuals from Mao's inner circle in China who had never previously spoken, as well as nearly everyone outside China who had significant interactions with Mao, this biography presents a portrait of Mao that is both comprehensive and startling. The book reveals Mao as a man driven not by idealism or ideology, but by a ruthless ambition for power and control.
The authors expose the myth of the Long March and detail Mao's intricate relationship with Stalin, a partnership that began in the 1920s and aided Mao's rise to power. They reveal how Mao welcomed the Japanese occupation of China as a strategic opportunity and used schemes, poison, and blackmail to achieve his political aims. After Mao achieved victory in 1949, his hidden agenda was global domination, an ambition that precipitated the deaths of 38 million people in the most devastating famine in recorded history. In total, over 70 million Chinese citizens perished due to Mao's policies during peacetime.
Blending meticulous historical research with the compelling narrative style of Wild Swans, this biography vividly brings to life Mao's tumultuous journey, highlighting his relentless manipulation and contentious policies. The book also delves into Mao's private life, unveiling for the first time his behaviour towards his wives, mistresses, and children.
This is an entirely fresh and groundbreaking perspective on Mao, both in terms of content and narrative approach. Mao: The Unknown Story is sure to astonish historians and general readers alike, challenging established perceptions of Mao and offering new insights into the catastrophic impact of his rule.
'This is a bombshell of a book,' Chris Patten, The Times
'The first great political biography of the twenty-first century,' Spectator
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday has been praised as a groundbreaking political biography of the twenty-first century. It offers a revealing and detailed examination of Mao's tumultuous life, with some reviewers calling it a stupendous and magnificent work. This book is considered a mesmerising and powerful portrayal of Mao, lauded for its thorough research and potential to change the historical perspective on Mao's legacy.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780099507376
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 04 January 2007
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Vintage
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 45.0mm
Width: 130.0mm
Height: 199.0mm
Weight: 723g
Pages: 992
About the Author
Jung Chang was born in Yibin, Sichuan Province, China, in 1952. She was a Red Guard briefly at the age of fourteen and then worked as a peasant, a 'barefoot doctor', a steelworker and an electrician before becoming an English-language student and, later, an assistant lecturer at Sichuan University. She left China for Britain in 1978 and was subsequently awarded a scholarship by York University, where she obtained a PhD in Linguistics in 1982 - the first person from the People's Republic of China to receive a doctorate from a British university. Her award-winning book, Wild Swans, was published in 1991. Jon Halliday is a former Senior Visiting Research Fellow at King's College, University of London. He has written or edited eight previous books.
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Fly, Wild Swans
THE LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL TO WILD SWANS, THE MULTI-MILLION COPY INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING SENSATION Jung Changโs Wild Swans was a book that defined a generation, an epic personal history of Jung, her mother and grandmother โ โthree daughters of Chinaโ. The book opens with her grandmotherโs birth โ and foot binding โ in 1909, when China was under the last emperor, through...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Empress Dowager Cixi
From the bestselling author of Wild Swans and Mao: The Unknown Story, Jung Chang delivers an extraordinary account of the woman who single-handedly propelled China into the modern age. Discover the captivating life story of Empress Dowager Cixi, the concubine who rose from relative obscurity to become the most influential woman in Chinese history. In her groundbreaking biography, Empress Dowager...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips late August -
Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister
A major new biography from the internationally bestselling author of Wild Swans, Mao, and Empress Dowager Cixiโa gripping story of sisterhood, revolution, and betrayal, and three women who helped shape the course of modern Chinese history. SHORTLISTED FOR THE HWA NON-FICTION CROWN 2020 Meet the three women who helped shape the course of modern Chinese history; a gripping story of...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Wild Swans
Wild Swans by Jung Chang is an extraordinary true story, a sweeping historical saga that spans three generations of remarkable women within one family. Set against the backdrop of China's most turbulent and transformative period in the 20th century, this powerful non-fiction work intricately weaves personal narratives with the profound political, social, and cultural upheavals that shaped modern China. Through...Paperback$2699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
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