I dont know who made the decision to give mr bauckham the task of reading this, but they should hang their head. Maos great famine was not merely an isolated episode in the making of modern china. The soviet union was the first among many underdeveloped countries in which national leaders with pseudoscientific visions of. This subject has come up again with the public statements by frank dikotter and jasper becker where he claims researched archives and determined x amount of people were killed by maos famine. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 19581962, presented by harvard book store.
The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 195862 peoples trilogy book 1. An unprecedented, groundbreaking history of chinas great famine that recasts the era of mao zedong and the history of the peoples republic of china. An answer you are less likely to hear is the great leap forward. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to catch up to and overtake britain in less than 15 years the. Winner of the samuel johnson prizean unprecedented, groundbreaking history of chinas great famine that recasts the era of mao zedong and the history of the peoples republic of china. The history of chinas most devastating ca tastrophe, 19581962 is the longest and most detailed study of the great leap forward glf famine to appear in english to date. Pdf mao s great famine download full pdf book download. Mao s great famine, the longest and most detailed englishlanguage account of this tragic event. I have just modified 2 external links on mao s great famine. Though maos great leap forward was celebrated in the west as a major advance, the reality was captured by the name villagers gave to the vast irrigation schemes on which they were forced to labour they called them the killing fields. Dec 09, 2012 there are good earlier studies of the famine and one excellent recent one, maos great famine by frank dikotter, but yangs is significant because he lives in china and is boldly unsparing. It is also coming up because of the new book hungry ghosts. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
He has published ten books about the history of china, including maos great famine, which won the bbc samuel johnson prize for nonfiction in 2011, and the tragedy of liberation, which was shortlisted for the george orwell prize. Maos great famine is a gripping and masterful portrait of the brutal court of mao, based on new research but also written with great narrative verve, that tells the gripping story of the manmade famine that killed 45 million people from the dictator and his henchmen down to the villages of rural china simon sebag montefiore. This book is an excellent account of the great famine of china from 195862. Frank dikotter discusses his book, maos great famine. However, if a low estimate of 30 million deaths is accepted, the great leap forward was the deadliest famine in the history of china and in the history of the world. Frank dikotter takes a new look at maos great leap forward 195862, using the recently opened communist party archives. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading maos great famine. Author yang jisheng is determined to change that with his book, tombstone. Dikotters book is aimed at situating the famine as the most deadly mass killing in human history, since at least 45 million people were worked, starved or beaten to death. Antisocialism, democide mao zedongs great leap forward, a farreaching program of forced modernization intended to transform china into a socialist paradise, instead results in the greatest holocaust in human history with a death toll of 45 million. Not a great leap forward straight off the bat, dikotters choice of title reveals one of the core theses of the book.
This first authoritative expose of the 19581962 famine prompted by chinas collectivization plan, the great leap forward, comes at a time when the cult of mao is. The unknown story mao s great famine is a gripping and masterful portrait of the brutal court of mao, based on new research but also written with great narrative verve, that tells the gripping story of the manmade famine that killed 45 million people, from the dictator and his henchmen down to the villages of. The result was a famine that is unparalleled in human history. Before moving to asia in 2006, he was professor of the modern history of china at the university of london. In january 1958 mao zedong launched the great leap forward, a campaign to accelerate chinas industrialisation, aiming to surpass the british economy within 15 years. These are the sources and citations used to research maos great famine. Like jasper beckers book, dikotters focuses on describing and conveying to the. Frank dikotter, chair professor of humanities at the university of hong kong, examines this catastrophe in the second book of his threepart series on china under communism, maos great famine.
Winner of the samuel johnson prize an unprecedented, groundbreaking history of chinas great famine that recasts the era. Maos great famine, however, reveals the polar opposite of good leadership. The initiative was designed to reinforce his own power within the communist party, and to show chinas independence from the soviet union and its model of development. Apr 12, 2018 human cost of maos great famine and cultural revolution exposed in powerful novel. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 19581962, presented by harvard book. The horrors of chinas great leap forward are unveiled in a masterly study of the hateful plan, writes jonathan fenby. Maos great famine by frank dikotter an answer you are less likely to hear is the great leap forward. Maos great famine by frank dikotter, 9781408886366, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
Maos secret famine is a book written by jasper becker, the beijing bureau chief for the south china morning post. The subject matter is much too deep for that and the dangers the author endured to write this phenomenal work far too real. The great chinese famine is widely regarded as the deadliest famine and one of the greatest manmade disasters in human history, with an. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple faq for additional information. Jan 01, 20 the famine that killed up to 45 million people remains a taboo subject in china 50 years on. Last year frank dikotter won the prestigious bbc samuel johnson prize for his book maos great famine. Maos great famine history bibliographies cite this for me. Oct 01, 2010 winner of the samuel johnson prizean unprecedented, groundbreaking history of chinas great famine that recasts the era of mao zedong and the history of the peoples republic of china. Frank dikotters work, appearing half a century after the most murderous year 1960, will henceforth be the leading account on the great famine. Because of the uncertainties involved in estimating famine deaths caused by the great leap forward or any famine, it is difficult to compare the severity of different famines.
Schoolchildren read copies of mao zedongs little red book in july 1968, in beijing at the height of the. Dec 16, 2010 maos great famine was not merely an isolated episode in the making of modern china. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to. Maos great famine frank dikotter the grey zone from 1958 to 1962 china was pitched into a hell of inconceivable proportions. But according to maos great famine, a new book by frank dikotter, a historian at the school of oriental and african studies, the party is largely to blame not just for causing the disaster, but. Nov 02, 2010 in maos great famine, historian frank dikotter assembles a treasure chest of these historic facts, but more important, he strokes them together into a masterly and memorable story. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 19581962 is the longest and most detailed study of the great leap forward glf famine to appear in english to date. A direct, hardhitting study of chinas great leap forward in light of newly opened archival material. Some scholars have also included the year 1958 or 1962. Maos great famine by frank dikotter this book is an excellent account of the great famine of china from 195862. Frank dikotter, maos great famine, the history of chinas most. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 19581962 on. The great chinese famine, 19581962 by yang jisheng and the great famine in china, 19581962. The eurasian tree sparrow was the most notable target of the campaign.
This event gets comparatively little attention to other crimes. Maos great famine book midcontinent public library. Frank dikotter, maos great famine, the history of chinas. I would strongly recommend the book, but dont get the recording.
The untold story of maos great famine historyextra. The unknown story maos great famine is a gripping and masterful portrait of the brutal court of mao, based on new research but also written with great narrative verve, that tells the gripping story of the manmade famine that killed 45 million people, from the dictator and his henchmen down to the villages of. Under mao the chinese nation had a leader of blindly driven ideology whose self centred personality drove the nation into the largest manmade famine in. Mao zedong, chairman of the chinese communist party, threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to overtake britain, then still seen as an industrial superpower, in less than 15 years. The subsequent cultural revolution was the leaders attempt to take revenge on. Human cost of maos great famine and cultural revolution exposed in powerful novel. The famine that killed up to 45 million people remains a taboo subject in china 50 years on. The four pests to be eliminated were rats, flies, mosquitoes, and sparrows. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 195862, is a 2010 book by professor and historian frank dikotter about the great famine of 19581962 in the peoples republic of china under mao zedong 18931976.
The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 1958 62, is a 2010 book. Human cost of maos great famine and cultural revolution. First i will tackle the subject of promoting the idea of mao being a mass murderer. Like jasper beckers book, dikotters focuses on describing and conveying to the reader the stark effects of the famine at the local level, whereas a series of other good accounts have. Based on four years of research in recently opened chinese provincial, county.
The causes for the disaster are many, and they primarily come from the topchairman mao, the communist dictator from 194976. Opinion maos great leap to famine the new york times. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an. Maos great famine the history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 19581962 book. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, won the 2011 samuel johnson prize for nonfiction, britains most prestigious book award for nonfiction.
Click download or read online button to get mao s great famine book now. Professor dikotter says that between those years, at least 45 million. Becker argues that the american press reported the great chinese famine with accuracy, but leftists and communist sympathisers such as edgar snow, rewi alley, and anna louise strong, remained silent or played down its severity, when mao zedongs great leap forward. It doesnt really take a whole lot of research to see on the surface what is so blatantly obvious about these socalled works. Estimates of deaths due to starvation range in the tens of millions. Yang jishengs tombstone, the great chinese famine 19581962, is not the kind of book i could rate based on nothing more than how much i did or did not like it. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to catch up to and overtake britain in. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 19581962 by frank dikotter and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Sep 06, 2012 frank dikotter discusses his book, maos great famine. The untold story of maos great famine by yang jisheng. The jury was impressed yet stunned that they didnt know the full scale of the atrocities committed during the great leap forward. In contrast to other western scholars, dikotter managed. Mao s great famine download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. This bibliography was generated on cite this for me on thursday, june 22, 2017. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
If you are expected to lead in any sphere of life, here is how not to do it. I have just modified 2 external links on maos great famine. The policies of ruler mao zedong contributed the most to the famine. The book examines these two cataclysmic periods through the eyes of a boy, narrator baoguo. The great leap forward starts with the bidding between china and russia. This was the economic plan implemented between 19581962 by chairman mao zedong to rapidly industrialise china through mass collectivisation of land and coercive relocation of workers into communes. The book is called maos great famine, unsurprisingly there are very few highlights. Winner of the samuel johnson prizean unprecedented, groundbreaking history of chinas great famine that recasts the era of mao zedong. Winner of the samuel johnson prize an unprecedented, groundbreaking history of chinas great famine that recasts the era of mao zedong and the history of the peoples republic of china. Though mao s great leap forward was celebrated in the west as a major advance, the reality was captured by the name villagers gave to the vast irrigation schemes on which they were forced to labour they called them the killing fields.