Mao: A Reinterpretation [Paperback]

Lee Feigon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2003

In recent years historians and political observers have vilified Mao Tse-tung and placed him in a class with tyrants like Hitler and Stalin. But, as Lee Feigon points out in his startling revision of Mao, the Chinese leader has been tainted by the actions and policies of the same Soviet-style Communist bureaucrats he came to hate and attempted to eliminate. Mr. Feigon argues that the movements for which Mao is almost universally condemned today—the Great Leap Forward and especially the Cultural Revolution—were in many ways beneficial for the Chinese people. They forced China to break with its Stalinist past and paved the way for its great economic and political strides in recent years. While not glossing over Mao’s mistakes, some of which had heinous consequences, Mr. Feigon contends that Mao should be largely praised for many of his later efforts—such as the attacks he began to level in the late 1950s on those bureaucrats responsible for many of the problems that continue to plague China today. In reevaluating Mao’s contributions, this interpretive study reverses the recent curve of criticism, seeing Mao’s late-in-life contributions to the Chinese revolution more favorably while taking a more critical view of his earlier efforts. Whereas most studies praise the Mao of the 1930s and 1940s as an original and independent thinker, Mr. Feigon contends that during this period his ideas and actions were fairly ordinary—but that he depended much more on Stalin’s help than has been acknowledged. Mao: A Reinterpretation seeks a more informed perspective on one of the most important political leaders of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In recent years, with newly released official documents and insights from those who knew Mao Zedong personally, China scholars have written biographies of Mao for general consumption. Two such books are Jonathan Spence's Mao Zedong and Philip Short's Mao: A Life. In the present biography, Feigon (China Rising) presents what most China scholars undoubtedly will consider an incorrect portrait of Mao-as a man who cared deeply about his family, tried to implant Stalin's ideas in the Chinese mind, and, upon realizing his mistake in doing that, led the nation into the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, which Feigon asserts was truly responsible for carving the current path toward economic advancement in China. He posits that Mao, not Deng Xiaoping, was open to establishing a relationship with the United States. Though Feigon's interpretation is wrong, he develops innovative ideas about how to understand the man's life. For example, scholars generally agree that Mao was committed to education-but how does that play out in practice against political struggles in China? Although Feigon constantly points out that Mao was "different from" Stalin, he does not follow through with convincing analysis. Perhaps a review of both leaders' activities within their respective cultures and bureaucracies (see Klaus Mehnert's classic study, Peking and Moscow) would provide a starting point. An optional purchase.
Peggy Spitzer Christoff, Library of Congress
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

When alive, Mao had no shortage of admirers among Western intellectuals, from Edgar Snow in the 1930s to French existentialists in the 1960s; in death, Mao may count China scholar Feigon among his friends. Positive adjectives about Mao ("prescient," "levelheaded") recur in Feigon's biographical narrative, whose thesis is that Mao bloomed late as a Marxist theoretician; established the People's Republic of China along Stalinist lines; and ruing that, tried to dismantle Stalinist bureaucracies. Noting the Stalin-style establishment of the PRC in the early 1950s, in which more than five million Chinese may have been executed, Feigon is less censorious about the death tolls of Mao's movements, such as the Great Leap Forward (about 30 million) and the Cultural Revolution (about a half million). That's because he's impressed with the educational, cultural, and even economic achievements he argues occurred during these times. Readers less inclined to take a detour around mass murder may not be so impressed with the provocative arguments Feigon advances. A controversial biography that may generate requests at the circulation desk. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (July 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566635225
• ISBN-13: 978-1566635226
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #894,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mao was not evil?, June 13, 2009

By 

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

This review is from: Mao: A Reinterpretation (Paperback)

There are always those out there that state things like "At least Hitler kept Germany from turning Communist or Stalin turned a backward society to the future". What these apologists are staying is that it was alright to murder and kill to turn society around. In this respect, it is the ends justify the means. Well, Mao may have done some things right, but he was a cold blooded killer who eliminated 30 million people in his great leap backward. Mao was a leader who was responsible for the deaths of millions. If he was not aware of what his policies did to his nation, that does not alleviate the guilt. I respect the authors opinions, although I don't fully believe them. Mao has blood on his hands. I saw Mao (or at least his body) in 2008, so the fascination with this leader's rule is as great as ever. We should just remember how many people died as a result of his rule.

This is an interesting intrepretation of Mao. Although Feigon may be right on some points, he ultimate summary of Mao is wrong. An interesting read.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provides a different view of the leader, January 11, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mao: A Reinterpretation (Hardcover)

Mao: A Reinterpretation is a new political biography of Mao which provides a different view of the leader as a committed revolutionary who contributed to China's history and culture. The real Mao wasn't a genius, nor the evil leader later biographies have portrayed. This reinterpretation examines both his life and the lasting effects of his ideals.