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linguaphile11's review against another edition
4.0
I initially wanted to buy a book about the Chinese Cultural Revolution I’d heard so much about, but upon hearing about a great famine that proceeded I bought this book. I’m so glad I did as this was packed with compelling personal accounts, textbook level statistics, and a through cutting analysis of the reasons for and culpability of the Great Chinese Famine. I feel that my secondary school education was inadequate as I had never heard of this greatest famine in recorded history until my interest in China drew me to this book.
In summation, if you are interested in China, communism, dictator analysis, or want to read something that informs you on Chinese culture, I highly recommend this book.
In summation, if you are interested in China, communism, dictator analysis, or want to read something that informs you on Chinese culture, I highly recommend this book.
merelaw's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
laughterbynight's review against another edition
3.0
Okay so there is a lot of good information here (that’s not my issue) but I think perhaps a different layout of the information would have been helpful? There were times I struggled keeping track of what was going on, when, and where. That could be because the original documents were paired down? I’m not sure. At the very least I would suggest reading this maybe after getting a thorough idea of the layout and timeline of events.
Maybe this would work well as a 3rd or 4th book after getting really familiar with the famine and the Great Leap Forward.
Maybe this would work well as a 3rd or 4th book after getting really familiar with the famine and the Great Leap Forward.
paulataua's review against another edition
4.0
Once you get over the ‘ I am exposing this truth to the world’ feeling at the beginning, you realize that you are reading a very thorough and detailed history of the great famine that adds much to the already growing scholarship. The famine came out of ‘The Great Leap Forward’ policies of Mao’s communist party in the late fifties and early sixties– a five year plan (1958-1962) aimed at multiplying grain yields and bringing industry to the countryside as quickly as possible.
It’s a fascinating and, at the same time, horrifying story of the famine and starvation that came out of that policy in practice. Yang goes further by showing that terror starvation played a major part, with manslaughter, and perhaps even murder, accounting for the high number of deaths. Official indifference to death and local party’s brutally dealing with hoarders who went against communist principles also had a part to play. It is a book well worth reading. My own interest, and one that is never fully answered in the book or elsewhere that I know, is how much people knew about what was going on as it was happening, and why so many people, inside and outside China, seemed not to know. Yang’s account presents some thoughts, and even at one point suggests that ‘in all fairness, the people’s genuine aspirations lay behind much of the folly of the Great leap Forward’. As with Stalin’s collectivization of agriculture in the thirties, many questions still need to be answered.
Is it just that when, against all odds, you turn a dream into a reality, and then begin to realize that the reality doesn’t match up to the dream, and you desperately try to make it work at all costs? A fascinating read!
It’s a fascinating and, at the same time, horrifying story of the famine and starvation that came out of that policy in practice. Yang goes further by showing that terror starvation played a major part, with manslaughter, and perhaps even murder, accounting for the high number of deaths. Official indifference to death and local party’s brutally dealing with hoarders who went against communist principles also had a part to play. It is a book well worth reading. My own interest, and one that is never fully answered in the book or elsewhere that I know, is how much people knew about what was going on as it was happening, and why so many people, inside and outside China, seemed not to know. Yang’s account presents some thoughts, and even at one point suggests that ‘in all fairness, the people’s genuine aspirations lay behind much of the folly of the Great leap Forward’. As with Stalin’s collectivization of agriculture in the thirties, many questions still need to be answered.
Is it just that when, against all odds, you turn a dream into a reality, and then begin to realize that the reality doesn’t match up to the dream, and you desperately try to make it work at all costs? A fascinating read!
timsumerlin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
vbang247's review against another edition
4.0
Banned in mainland China, Tombstone informs the readers about the horrific man-made famine of 1958-1962 which to this day is estimated to have caused deaths of 36-45 million people. Exaggerated grain production, lack of accountability, high procurement quotas, communal kitchens and collectivization of farm lands without proper compensation led to the greatest man made disaster of 20th century. The book throws light on the disastrous policies of the Mao Zedong govt that led to the cannibalism permanently memorialized in the country's history.