Oct 12, 2010 a direct, hardhitting study of chinas great leap forward in light of newly opened archival material. The communist party still holds that mao was 70% good, 30% bad. The hardcover of the forgotten voices of maos great famine, 1958 1962. Maos great famine compiles never before seen footage from the famine with testimonies of survivors. In maos great famine, frank dikotter explores the catastrophe that often gets crowded out of the worlds recollections of the twentieth. Oct 20, 2010 frank dikotter will discuss his book, maos great famine, at the university of san francisco. 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. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 19581962 new york. 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.
They were the product of mao zedongs call in late 1960 to investigate what had actually occurred. Maos great famine frank dikotter the grey zone from 1958 to 1962 china was pitched into a hell of inconceivable proportions. A famous documentary maker has inspired more than a hundred. Frank dikotter takes a new look at maos great leap forward 195862, using the recently opened communist party archives.
Tombstone by yang jisheng, translated from the chinese. Maos great famine by frank dikotter this book is an excellent account of the great famine of china from 195862. The maoist regime insisted that the great famine of 19581962 was a natural disaster, but it actually resulted from the reckless policies and a pitiless disregard for human life of the regime itself. Zhou xuns book sets out detailed primary sources about the great famine in china. 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. Between 1958 and 1962, 45 million chinese people were worked, starved or beaten to death. A grim chronicle of chinas great famine for 10 years, journalist yang jinsheng secretly collected official evidence about the terrible famine in china a halfcentury ago. Dec 16, 2010 maos great famine was not merely an isolated episode in the making of modern china. Human cost of maos great famine and cultural revolution exposed in powerful novel. Winner of the samuel johnson prize an unprecedented, groundbreaking history of china s great famine that recasts the era of mao zedong and the history of the people s republic of china. The book examines these two cataclysmic periods through the eyes of a boy, narrator baoguo. 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. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe. I would very interested to know how i could access some of the documents cited in your work.
This bibliography was generated on cite this for me on thursday, june 22, 2017. The famine that killed up to 45 million people remains a taboo subject in china 50 years on. As one of the many who personally lived through the fearful years from 1960 to 1962 in china, i would like to thank frank dikotter, whose book reliably exposes the details of the largest famine in chinese history. The great chinese famine, 19581962 the great mortality. F rank dikotter has written a masterly book that should be read not just by anybody interested in modern chinese history but also. The causes for the disaster are many, and they primarily come from the topchairman mao, the communist dictator from 194976. Read forgotten voices of maos great famine, 19581962 an oral history by xun zhou available from rakuten kobo. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to catch.
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. Clean, tight and strong binding with clean dust jacket. Oct 01, 2010 before moving to asia in 2006, he was professor of the modern history of china at the university of london. An intimate history of the black death, the most devastating plague of all time maos china and the cold war the new. I have just modified 2 external links on mao s great famine. The history of china s most devastating catastrophe, 195862. 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 one i am most interested in is the document which includes maos speech on 25 march 1959. Nov 10, 2012 a grim chronicle of chinas great famine for 10 years, journalist yang jinsheng secretly collected official evidence about the terrible famine in china a halfcentury ago. 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. Feb 16, 2011 maos great famine is the story of how mao zedong, chairman of the chinese communist party, threw his country into chaos with the great leap forward 195862, a disastrous attempt to transition from socialism to communism via radical collectivization. Yet while interviewing for this book, i visited renshou several times to speak with survivors, and i found it a rather backward place. These are the sources and citations used to research maos great famine. Forgotten voices of maos great famine, 19581962 yale.
Zhou xuns meticulous and sensitive oral history allows survivors of the famine to tell their stories for the first time. Author yang jisheng is determined to change that with his book, tombstone. What has been translated is only part of a much larger text published in chinese in 2008, but it adds significantly to jasper beckers hungry ghosts 1996 and frank dikotters maos great famine 2010. Maos great famine was not merely an isolated episode in the making of modern china. 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. She is the author of the great famine in china, 19581962.
Maos great famine is the story of how mao zedong, chairman of the chinese communist party, threw his country into chaos with the great leap forward 195862, a disastrous attempt to transition from socialism to communism via radical collectivization. Maos great famine comments leading light communist. Human cost of maos great famine and cultural revolution. The great famine remains a taboo in china, where it is referred to as the three years of natural disasters or the three years of difficulties. Zhou xun is a lecturer in modern history at the university of essex. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 195862, is a 2010 book by professor and historian frank dikotter about the great chinese famine of 19581962 in the peoples republic of china under mao zedong 18931976. From 1958 to 1962 chairman maos communist regime forced through a programme of breakneck industrialisation and agricultural collectivisation that resulted in the worst famine in human history. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. 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. The great helmsmans face stares out over tiananmen square and from the countrys bank notes. 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. Mao zedong had vowed to build a communist paradise in china through. Winner of the bbc samuel johnson prize for nonfiction 2011 between 1958 and 1962, 45 million chinese people were worked, starved or beaten to death. 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.
Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 19581962 kindle edition by dikotter, frank. The history of china s most devastating catastrophe duration. A direct, hardhitting study of chinas great leap forward in light of newly opened archival material. Zhou xun, whose new book, the great famine in china, collects. 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. Maos great famine history bibliographies cite this for me. 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. Join the monitors book discussion on facebook and twitter. Chairman mao, the great leap forward and the deforestation. The untold story of maos great famine historyextra. Professor dikotter says that between those years, at least 45 million.
In 1958, chinas revered leader mao zedong instituted a program designed to transform his giant nation into a communist. It lead to one of the greatest catastrophes the world has ever known. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading maos great famine. The great leap forward was an economic campaign conceived by mao. Jan 01, 20 the famine that killed up to 45 million people remains a taboo subject in china 50 years on. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 19581962. Center for advanced study, university of illinois at urbana. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, won the 2011 samuel johnson prize for nonfiction, britains most prestigious book award for nonfiction.
The books blamed the famine on natural disasters and our debt to the soviet union. Robert bickers applauds an account that casts new light on one of the darkest episodes in chinas recent past share on facebook. Aug 01, 2011 in a brilliant and horrifying book, professor dikotter lays bare the devastating consequences of chinas great leap forward. Maos great leap forward, designed to make china the worlds leading communist state, generated the worst famine in history. Published in hong kong, it has been banned in mainland china.
Maos great famine educational version with public performance. Maos great famine alexander street, a proquest company. 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. Excerpted from forgotten voices of maos great famine. Forgotten voices of maos great famine, 19581962 by zhou xun. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to catch up to and overtake britain in less. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe duration. I am currently studying your book maos great famine. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 195862. Read the first chapter of frank dikotters prizewinning book, maos great famine. The shorter book, the great famine in china, 19581962.
Patheos the threeyear famine is one of the major human tragedies during the reign of mao. These are the sources and citations used to research mao s great famine. The history of chinas most devastating catastrophe, 195862 4. The untold story of maos great famine and the great. Mao zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the great leap forward, an attempt to catch up with and overtake the western world in less than fifteen years. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. Maos great famine the history of chinas most devastating. Recording the untold stories of chinas great famine. 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 rural china. 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. He has published ten books about the history of china, including mao s 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. I have just modified 2 external links on maos great famine.
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