Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by beefbroccoli
The Cultural Revolution: A People's History, 1962-1976 by Frank Dikötter
This is an engaging and informative book about the Cultural Revolution, Mao's devastating policy that destroyed Chinese government and society. (Mao was the mass killer of more Chinese people than anyone in history; if you add up the deaths from his other disastrous policy Great Leap Forward (1958-1962), it comes out to 45-70 million Chinese people killed.)
Economy and education were crushed by political dogma. The Red Guards purged anyone deemed party unfaithful. Millions were sent from the city to die of starvation in the countryside. Millions suffered under persecution by ideologues and opportunists. The author documents this suffering using evidence from China's own archives of this era, uncovered by historians Chinese and non-Chinese. Most of the stories are sad and depressing, but there are some bright moments where individuals resisted in their own way. Also documented are the severe socioeconomic consequences of the Cultural Revolution.
This is essential reading, especially for young far leftists who think the Cultural Revolution was an exercise in mass democracy and who are too young to remember the miscalculations and human costs of Mao's policies. Well written and engaging.
Economy and education were crushed by political dogma. The Red Guards purged anyone deemed party unfaithful. Millions were sent from the city to die of starvation in the countryside. Millions suffered under persecution by ideologues and opportunists. The author documents this suffering using evidence from China's own archives of this era, uncovered by historians Chinese and non-Chinese. Most of the stories are sad and depressing, but there are some bright moments where individuals resisted in their own way. Also documented are the severe socioeconomic consequences of the Cultural Revolution.
This is essential reading, especially for young far leftists who think the Cultural Revolution was an exercise in mass democracy and who are too young to remember the miscalculations and human costs of Mao's policies. Well written and engaging.