Dick Wilson (1)

This is a hard book to rate. On one hand, it provides a lot of information and is somewhat detailed. On the other, it leaves out huge chunks of information which is simply unforgivable.

I wanted to read about Mao to learn more about him -- I knew next to nothing -- and I did. I learned of his modest upbringing, his hardships, his love of country, his love of the peasants, his introduction to Marx, his awakening to socialism and communism and the way to save his country -- and every country. I learned of his split with the nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek, the backstabbing, dictatorial asshole American naturally supported to rule China and whom Mao eventually drove to Taiwan. I learned about Mao's raising of a peasant army, about the Long March, about his battles against Japan during WWII, his continued battles with the nationalists after the war, and about his victorious march into Peking after defeating them. I read of his rise to power and of how power corrupts, in this case, his cronies. Mao apparently wanted the Chinese to continue to revolt to bring about true communism, but his cronies on the Politburo grew a little too comfortable. I read of the numerous attempts to get Mao thrown out of office, which surprised me, and of how he survived each, coming back stronger each time. I read of his Cultural Revolution, which was taking place when I was born and was something I barely remember. I read of when Nixon went to visit him, the first time an American president had done such a thing. And I read of his death in the mid-70s.

All of this was interesting, but so much was left out. For instance, you would think the Korean War would be pretty big, wouldn't you? It was big for the US, the two Koreas, and China, but it only merits a few sentences in this huge book. WTH? What's up with that? Surely the author could have written something about that! Also, during the Hundred Flowers phase of the '50s, Mao was said to have said that "the imperialist claims that twenty million people had been killed as counter-revolutionaries were quite false. The true number was 'not much greater than 700,000.'" Um, excuse me? Where the hell did that come from? At least 700,000 people died and perhaps as many as 20 million and the author never even hints that executions are taking place, that people are being murdered, that there are death squads, that anything AT ALL is happening???!!! Doesn't Mr. Wilson owe it to his reader to let them know that this is happening? It's shocking that he left this information out of the book. It's insulting to the Chinese and to the reader. If I were a relative of one of the deceased, I'd be outraged. I just couldn't believe it when I read that passage. And that's not an isolated example! This occurs elsewhere. Mass massacres, with no advance warning. No sense of injustice. Mao's just a rustic good old boy, a somewhat naive genius who barely understand Marxism, but is well loved by the peasants. What the hell??? And so on. And then there's the Vietnam War. How much do you think that's mentioned in this book? Not at all. I can't believe it. Not at all. The author is an idiot, or he thinks his reader is, I'm not sure.

I would give the book one star, but I'm giving it two because a lot of research did go into it and the author did tackle a moderately complex character with a minimum attempt at explaining him. He tried, but only just. I expected so much more. If anyone can recommend a better Mao bio to me, I'd appreciate it. Definitely not recommended.… (meer)