The Conspiracy and Death of Lin Biao [Hardcover]

Yao Ming-Le (Author), Stanley Karnow (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Chinese

Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; 1 edition (May 12, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394525434
• ISBN-13: 978-0394525433
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,212,817 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Power politics in Red China during the Cultural Revolution., June 11, 2003

By 

Kevin M Quigg (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Conspiracy and Death of Lin Biao (Hardcover)

First, this book might not be true since most of the conspirators are dead and the author is writing under an assumed name. Lin Biao was Defense Minister for ten years during the 1960s and in the late sixties became Mao's Number Two man. In the book, Lin and his wife and son conspire to kill Mao and take over control of the People's Republic. Mao was not in the best of health and had only five years to live after these events in September, 1971.
What happened is open to speculation. The author says he had access to secret records which show that Lin and his wife died after a party given by Mao. His son and some other conspirators chose to flee by a jet and helicopter. The jet was shot down and the helicopter landed and all the conspirators were either killed or imprisoned.
The Westerner will never know what really happened. The press reported Lin was killed when the jet ran out of gas and crash landed. Since Red China is not an open society, it will be impossible to know the full story. Even in an open society, there is much speculation about JFK's assasination.
This book is an average read. The story is open to doubt, but one gets a glimpse of the privileged life of the rulers of Red China.