Product Description

For 22 years, Dr Zhisui Li was Mao Tse-tung's personal physician, confidant and companion. He saw Mao and his country through the years of "the Great Leap Forward" and the Cultural Revolution. In this book Li reveals details of Mao's relations with Krushchev and other Soviet leaders, and the growing paranoia that led Mao to turn against the Chinese Communist Party's ruling clique. The book also includes details of Mao's private life - his sexual appetite, the luxury and corruption of his imperial court, how he dominated his circle of intimates, his gradual physical disintegration, and the political effects of his aims, fears and idiosyncrasies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44857 in Books
• Published on: 1996-04-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 688 pages

From the Publisher
'One of the most vivid descriptions of a dictator ever written' The Times

Customer Reviews

A fascinating read, hard to put down!
This is the view of Mao from one of the people closest to him. Dr Li writes honestly and openly about life with the man who changed China forever. The book gives more insight into the way Mao thought up his policies than many other books I have read on the subject and does so in a way that makes the book a very easy read, although the content is not always pleasant!
I would recommend this book to anyone who has read books such as 'Wild Swans' as it gives a very different perspective on the way China was being governed. It also shows the reader how paranoia and the desire for ultimate power can destroy someones ability to reason and act responsibly.

Gripping, chilling and Utterly Fascinating
I have been a student of Chinese politics for a few years now, and I have read many texts describing the political intrigues in China in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, but this is far and away the best I have ever read. The impression of Mao which emerges from these pages is fascinating, often chilling and sometimes even funny. Dr Li is an excellent writer and he manages to convey his own feelings of fear, joy and despair in a totally gripping way. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

if you are interested in China - read this
I read this book after recently returning from China and it answered so many questions. Dr Li writes in such an innocent fashion and one receives such an eye opener of the world under the rule of the Chairman. I cannot possibly come up with the correct words in which to express my appreciation of this book - an absolute must read!