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Mao
- The Unknown Story
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 29 hrs and 50 mins
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Since the founding of the People's Republic of China over seventy years ago, five paramount leaders have shaped the fates and fortunes of the nation and the ruling Chinese Communist Party: Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping. Under their leaderships, China has undergone an extraordinary transformation from an undeveloped and insular country to a comprehensive world power. In this definitive study, renowned Sinologist David Shambaugh offers a refreshing account of China's dramatic post-revolutionary history through the prism of those who ruled it.
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Publisher's Summary
“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.
What the critics say
"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)
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What listeners say about Mao
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- tenzin
- 2021-11-18
Must read.
I loved how the story has been written in details about Mao: his personality, childhood, love towards his near and dear ones, his desire to grab power at any cost and how he reads the situation about his foes before executing his will. For me personally, as a Tibetan, I was eager to understand about his thoughts and vision on Tibet after he met His Holiness in 1956. One thing for certain that Stalin indeed pushed Mao into thinking that Tibet needs to be captured. From listening to this book, I am appalled by the inhuman treatment done by one man towards mankind in the name of one ideology. About the narration, it's awesome. Voice is clear. I felt like I am watching episodes of Netflix that I completed 29 hours listening in 2 and half days. Must read for history loving people.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2017-12-29
this book should be required reading for everyone
i loved it..amazimg insight into one of the worst humans of the past 100 years.
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- Anonymous User
- 2018-06-11
great story!
Really well told and certainly worth the read, although it was a little too long
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- Kindle RBW
- 2019-02-06
Essential reading
This is true history, the facts of which have been distorted and concealed by the Chinese for decades. We never knew how evil he was and how terrible were the lives of the Chinese people. Now that their shackles are unlocked and their potential can be realized, watch out.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Steve Cullen
- 2018-07-06
Good reading, bad pronunciation.
the narrator is very good put pronunciation of Chinese names and places is consistently poor. As this is a book about Chinese people and places this significantly affects the narrative.
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- Thor
- 2019-02-24
Excellent
If you have read other great summaries of terrifying regimes, like the Gulag Archipelago, then this book will well surprise you in its effective and clear storytelling and its periodic reflections on the bigger picture. I was so grateful to listen to such an important story in its highly transparent writing style. It truly lets everyone be a historian, without major jargons or overly-detailed accounts. Details are given high importance, but they are much better chosen than any other major historical account I have interracted with. Thank you so much, dear authors, for this brilliant oppurtunity to learn more and more truth.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Alexandre Lariviere
- 2022-03-13
A powerful reminder of such a monster
To say that Mao is the most disastrous leader of the 20th century may be controversial, but it is accurate. This biography highlights his innate hypocrisy, as well as his lack of humanity.
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- HittsMcGee
- 2018-07-06
Important story_But biased perspective & too long
The story of Mao is integral for everyone to learn. He was the most influential leader this world has ever seen, yielding absolute power over nearly 1/4 of the world's population for 30 years. In his time as leader of the People's Republic of China, he was responsible for an authoritarian regime that claimed over 45 million death of his own citizens. Every person today should know his story. However, the secrecy of his regime makes it challenging to obtain a non-biased history. Chang and Halliday's narrative do a decent job of exposing the dark side of Mao. It is a deeply detailed book, which was too long for me to stay engaged. And it is definitely biased against Mao, making it a less holistic history.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-04-15
could not get through this
too many names and so confusing. eventually I gave up . very detailed and wordy.
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1 person found this helpful