Mao: The Unknown Story

Product Description

Jung Chang's Wild Swans was an extraordinary bestseller throughout the world, selling more than 10 million copies & reaching a wider readership than any other book about China. Now she & her husband Jon Halliday have written a groundbreaking biography of Mao Tse-tung.

Based on a decade of research, & on interviews with many of Mao's close circle in China who have never talked before
- & with virtually everyone outside China who had significant dealings with him
- this is the most authoritative life of Mao ever written. It is full of startling revelations, exploding the myth of the Long March, & showing a completely unknown Mao: he was not driven by idealism or ideology; his intimate & intricate relationship with Stalin went back to the 1920s, ultimately bringing him to power; he welcomed Japanese occupation of much of China; & he schemed, poisoned & blackmailed to get his way. After Mao conquered China in 1949, his secret goal was to dominate the world. In chasing this dream he caused the deaths of 38 million people in the greatest famine in history.

Combining meticulous history with the story-telling style of Wild Swans, this biography makes immediate Mao's roller-coaster life, as he intrigued & fought every step of the way to force through his unpopular decisions. The reader enters the shadowy chambers of Mao's court, & eavesdrops on the drama in its hidden recesses. Mao's character & the enormity of his behaviour towards his wives, mistresses & children are unveiled for the first time.

This is an entirely fresh look at Mao in both content & approach. It will astonish historians & the general reader alike.