A first rate biography of a fascinating man at an incredible time and place in human history.

Thank goodness this is over. I had ready his biography of Pol Pot. Maybe I was just more interested in that one, but this one is loooooong.

He would have done well to listen to a good editor.

A fantastic history of the chinese revolution. should be read with "red star over china"

A great biography. An even better introduction to guerilla warfare and gloves-off political infighting by one of its most skilled practicioners.

It seems like any author who claims a person is 100% evil is probably missing some aspect of human understanding. Without glossing over any of Mao's decisions, this book relies less on shock value than most accounts of this man and brings some objective insights to the life of a very controversial figure. In this regard, it's definitely the most balanced account of Mao Zedong I've read.

I had been intending to read a book about Mao and “Wild Swans” by Jung Chang had recently been published. However, the essay on Mao in Clive James’s “Cultural Amnesia” recommended Short’s book. It describes Mao’s life from his birth in rural China through his time in the then embryonic Communist Party through to taking the reins of government up until his death. How it compares with “Wild Swans” and other biographies I cannot say, but I found Short’s book thorough and a good read.

Great insight into the life, times, and mind of a successful, albeit psychotic and at times deadly, revolutionary.

One of the challenges of historical non fiction is that, for the most part, we know the ending. Some authors take on partisan views or revisionist stances that stretch all credibility. Short does not do that. With a figure such as Mao that is no small feat.

The second challenge is to decide what to include and what to leave out. If you include too little, it becomes a Wikipedia article. If you include too much, the reader loses the forest in the trees. Short is much less successful here.

At over 900 pages the reader should expect details, but Short gets so bogged down with details of Mao’s studies in the early 1920s and debates with party officials in the 1930s that the bigger picture is lost. Even the chapter on the cultural revolution reads less like a story of tragedy and more like a shopping list. It means that it is easy to lose sight of the overall lessons and important details of Mao’s life.

The narrative also lacks a balance. Events in the 1920s are given the same detail and word count as events such as the war with the Nationalists. How Mao came to Marxism is given similar attention to the Great Leap Forward.

That said, the final message that the author gives mirrors a quote from the book by Chen Yun. If Mao has died in 1956 he would be one of the immortals. If he had died in 1966 he would be a great man. But he died in 1976. It is a fair assessment, and one the author does make well.

If you are looking for a balanced, fair, and incredibly well researched book about Mao you will enjoy this. But be prepared to have your mind wander or find yourself skimming down to the next paragraph in many chapters.

This book is WAY TOO LONG. I picked it up from the library today and it's really freaking me out. I might have to put it in the closet, like how I once made my parents do with the Snow White book that had the really scary witch picture in it.

Philip Short must have some weird complex about his name that he should be working on in therapy. Instead, he's completely freaking me out.

Everything you need to know about Mao, and a little bit more.

A surprisingly neutral biography of an important and yet "evil" world leader.

A comprehensive account of a divisive figure. I came at this with a very brief knowledge of the period but have come away with a much greater understanding.

Some of the various names are difficult to follow through no fault of the author and I feel like a few more maps would help.

All in all, a great book about a very complicated character.