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Mao's Great Famine: The History Of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-62 (2010)

by Frank Dikötter(Favorite Author)

3.89 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0747595089 (ISBN13: 9780747595083)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Bloomsbury UK

review 1: So clear and stark in its detailing of the estimated 45 million Chinese deaths caused by Mao's Great Leap Forward. Basically, reading this makes me want to go back in time and punch everybody in the face. [Aside: It bothers me that every Westerner knows about Hitler, but few know about the extent of Stalin's atrocities and even fewer seem to know about Mao. An unholy trinity of horrors, to be sure, but the latter two are the worse villains, I think.]
review 2: The Great Leap Forward is the worst man made disaster in China with Frank Dikotter arguing that the number of deaths amounted to an astonishing 45million. Frank Dikotter through oral testimony and some access to official files has written a stomach turning account of the waste and destruction perpetuated ... moreby Mao and his desire for China to advance industrially and agriculturally at the same time. Dikotter is very blunt with the atrocities committed in the Chinese countryside and it is not a read for the faint hearted. He describes how the waste and decay that came with the Great Leap Forward penetrated every aspect of society in China but that undeniably the Chinese countryside fared the worst to the point where it is still trying to compensate today. Even though this book was rather morbid and harrowing I rate it highly for the way it was written and the way it dealt with such a difficult topic. Dikotter's ability to gain access to first hand accounts and official files should be applauded in a country where freedom of information is restricted. His book is one of the best I have read on this topic and I recommend it to anyone wanting to try and understand the Mao's Great Leap Forward less

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