Mao Zedong and the Chinese Revolution

📖 The Scoop

Mao Zedong was born in a tiny village in China's Hunan Province, and ended up one of the most significant political figures of the twentieth century. Starting his career earnestly as a librarian, Mao rose to the head of China's Communist Party, and eventually changed the course of his nation's history. Much of Mao's life was spent in his struggles for power, as he battled against the Nationalists, the Japanese, and even those in his own party to seize control. When he finally succeeded, he was faced with reconstructing a war-torn and divided China, and leading the massive and populous country into the twentieth century. Combining his own form of Communism, a tireless vision for the future, and a brutal ruthlessness, Mao redefined China and its place in the world, but at the expense of millions of lives. All the while, he remained an elusive, eccentric figure, while building a cult of personality around himself that eventually grew deadly, all while forging a legacy as a fearsome and formidable world leader. Book jacket.

Genre: Biography & Autobiography / General (fancy, right?)