A review by dclark32
The Cultural Revolution: A People's History, 1962-1976 by Frank Dikötter

4.0

Part III of a trilogy on the Mao Zedong era, of which I have read only this and Volume II (which concerned the Great Leap Forward). In any case, the historical record is damning. Murderous and power-hungry as he was, Mao unquestionably belongs on the pantheon of the great tyrants of the twentieth century alongside Stalin and Hitler. Tens of millions dead, some through pure incompetence and neglect, some through deliberately directed violence, some through out and out murder. One can only imagine being an ordinary Chinese citizen at this time, unsure of whether tomorrow will make see you branded a class enemy or a class hero (only to be subsequently denounced as a class enemy). The only criterion to determine who the enemies were seems to have been whoever was needed to ensure the entire country was in a state of constant disorder, with Mao's place at the top of the hierarchy always secure. If Dikotter sometimes jumps around in the chronology, making the narrative a bit hard to follow at times, he has a great eye for the revealing anecdote. Though often uncomfortable reading, Dikotter's trilogy is highly recommended reading.

4/5