Book cover of The Great Leap Backward: Forgetting and Representing the Mao Years

Book description

It is now forty years after Mao Zedong’s death and the end of the Cultural Revolution, and more than fifty years since the Great Leap Forward and the Great Famine. During this time, the collective memory of these events has been sanitized, reduced to a much-diluted version of what truly…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Great Leap Backward as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Numerous studies have confirmed that China’s Great Famine was man-made, its architect Mao Zedong. Yet, many of those affected do not blame Mao for what happened to them.

Still, in today’s China, many, including those affected by the catastrophe, worship Mao. The presence of such a ludicrous act is attributed to the communist regime’s mythicizing Mao and meantime censoring any media exposing Mao’s immense cruelties.

This book by Chen helps uncover and make explicit the testimonies of those involved in the human catastrophe. The book also exposes testimonies concerning political violence before and after the famine, which is very beneficial…

From Zhang-Yue's list on understanding China’s great famine.

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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

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Book cover of Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine, 1958-1962
Book cover of Hungry Ghosts: Mao's Secret Famine
Book cover of Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-1962

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