This was my first time reading about this period of China's history so I can't say how good this book is when compared to others that cover the same topic. However, I can say that this book truly changed the way I view the world and China. It also made me very aware of how much censorship there s...
For somebody who isn't fully au fait with Modern Chinese history some of the analysis provided by this book can be a little overwhelming as well as removed from the everyday tragedies of the Great Leap Forward, as it concentrates heavily on economic data and statistics during the first half of t...
One reason for this was that most of these regimes lived in constant fear of real or imagined enemies, justifying the regimentation of society along military lines in which each subordinate unit was expected to carry out orders without questioning: ‘each official is the anvil of his superiors and...