MAO The Unknown Story
MAO The Unknown Story - Review
By D. Stuart
Jung Chang and her partner are clearly on a mission to destroy any myths that may still
surround the man whose face dominates Tiennamen Square in Beijing. There is no
question about their authoritative research and the consistent and damning picture they
paint of Mao as a despot, mass murderer - a strange, contradictory man who wielded
awful power while entertaining personal passions for the things he openly despised.
He taunted the USA, but loved things American. He portrayed himself as a kindly
avuncular man - a man with a strict moral core. In person he could be described as
depraved, a bully who quelled any opposition.
The authors' sense of mission is too palpable - to the point of being intrusive. A
prosecutor isn't going to waste too much time telling us the "good side" of the accused,
and as a result this biography is as unrelenting as a war crimes tribunal. It makes for a
heavy, somewhat explosive read about the man who perhaps wielded the greatest
political influence of the 20th Century.
The subject matter is very important and I'd personally suggest reading this volume in conjunction with two other books: neither are by apologists for The Chairman.
The first is Dr Li Zhisui's excellent memoir "The Private Life of Chairman Mao" which tells of Mao from the perspective from inside Mao's court. Zhisui served as physician for Mao and his tyrranical wife Madame Mao, and if The Unknown Story depicts a maelstrom of violence, then Dr Zhisiu tells of the somewhat reclusive existence of Mao.
Second: I'd recommend Jung Chang's own groundbreaking book "Wild Swans" which tells the story of Mao's China from the points of view of a well-connected Chinese family.
Mao was a tyrant, but Jung Chang has worked so hard to hammer her points home that we lose the roundedness that we might expect from such an important work. Make no mistake, this is an excellent book - and a powerful read.
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