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The Cultural Revolution: A People's History, 1962―1976 Hardcover – May 3, 2016

by Frank Dikötter (Author)

37 customer reviews

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The concluding volume--following Mao’s Great Famine and The Tragedy of Liberation--in Frank Dikötter’s award-winning trilogy chronicling the Communist revolution in China.

After the economic disaster of the Great Leap Forward that claimed tens of millions of lives from 1958–1962, an aging Mao Zedong launched an ambitious scheme to shore up his reputation and eliminate those he viewed as a threat to his legacy. The stated goal of the Cultural Revolution was to purge the country of bourgeois, capitalistic elements he claimed were threatening genuine communist ideology. Young students formed the Red Guards, vowing to defend the Chairman to the death, but soon rival factions started fighting each other in the streets with semiautomatic weapons in the name of revolutionary purity. As the country descended into chaos, the military intervened, turning China into a garrison state marked by bloody purges that crushed as many as one in fifty people.

The Cultural Revolution: A People’s History, 1962–1976 draws for the first time on hundreds of previously classified party documents, from secret police reports to unexpurgated versions of leadership speeches. Frank Dikötter uses this wealth of material to undermine the picture of complete conformity that is often supposed to have characterized the last years of the Mao era. After the army itself fell victim to the Cultural Revolution, ordinary people used the political chaos to resurrect the market and hollow out the party’s ideology. In short, they buried Maoism. By showing how economic reform from below was an unintended consequence of a decade of violent purges and entrenched fear, The Cultural Revolution casts China’s most tumultuous era in a wholly new light.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fine, sharp study of this tumultuous, elusive era . . . [An] excellent follow-up to his groundbreaking previous work . . . Dikötter tells a harrowing tale of unbelievable suffering. A potent combination of precise history and moving examples." - starred review, Kirkus Reviews

"If [The Cultural Revolution] were widely circulated in China, it could undermine the legitimacy of the current regime . . . This book is a significant event in our understanding of modern China." - New York Times Book Review

"Richly documented . . . Dikötter paints a chilling picture." - Publishers Weekly

"For those who have swallowed the poisonous claim that the Communist Party deserves some credit for China’s current patchy prosperity, Mr. Dikötter provides the antidote." - Wall Street Journal

"Dikötter's well-researched and readable new book on the Cultural Revolution's causes and consequences is a crucial reminder of the tragedies, miscalculations and human costs of Mao's last experiment." - The Guardian

"A fascinating account of how people twisted or resisted the aims of Mao’s movement ****" - Daily Telegraph

"The murderous frenzy of the times, which tore apart friends and families, not to speak of the Communist party itself, is powerfully conveyed." - Book of the Week, The Times

"Definitive and harrowing." - Book of the Week, Daily Mail

"The final book of his magnificent historical trilogy . . . [Dikötter] has mastered the details so well that with the most sparing use of description he weaves a vivid tapestry of China at the time . . . This brilliant book leaves no doubt that Mao almost ruined China and left a legacy of paranoia that still grips its modern dictatorship under the latest autocrat, Xi Jinping." - Sunday Times

"Like Dikötter’s two previous books . . . The Cultural Revolution exposes, in measured prose and well-documented analysis, the impact of communist rule in a period of extraordinary stress . . . Together, these three books, which Dikötter calls the ‘People’s Trilogy’, constitute a major contribution to scholarship on modern China, one that is unequalled, certainly in the English language." - Literary Review

"Gripping, horrific . . . A significant event in our understanding of modern China." - International New York Times

"Fluent, compelling and based on a wide range of evidence." - Financial Times

About the Author

Frank Dikötter is chair professor of humanities at the University of Hong Kong. Before moving to Asia in 2006, he was professor of the modern history of China at the University of London. He has published ten books about the history of China, including Mao's Great Famine, which won the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction in 2011, and The Tragedy of Liberation, which was short-listed for the George Orwell Prize. He lives in Hong Kong.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury Press (May 3, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1632864215
ISBN-13: 978-1632864215
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.4 x 0.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #82 in Books > History > Asia > China
- #712 in Books > History > Historical Study & Educational Resources

Customer Reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars

5 star		59%
4 star		22%
3 star		11%
2 star		0%
1 star		8%

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Top Customer Reviews

History of China I hadn't learned

ByJudy Johnsonon August 10, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This was an interesting book. I only had a vague knowledge of the cultural revolution before reading this. The author did a good job of incorporating stories of individual experiences while presenting the overall picture of what was happening. He used many resources that have recently become available. This is the third book in a trilogy about China during Mao's lifetime. I read it slowly to absorb everything and contrast what was in the news and going on in my life at the time. The United States was focused on Vietnam War and we got little information out of China as this revolution took place.

0Comment 10 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

The Trilogy Finishes Strong...and Disturbing

ByRichard S. Botkinon June 3, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Professor Dikotter has done the world a favor in producing his insightful, thoroughly researched trilogy that exposes the pain and suffering caused by the imposition of communism upon the world's most populous nation. The level of pain and suffering experienced by the dead and survivors is hard to fathom. Dikotter's work is important reminder of the realities of communism and the people who impose it on their hapless fellow citizens.

0Comment 9 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Wonderful History of a Dark Period

ByD. Macdonaldon September 30, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Mao's disastrous "Cultural Revolution" from the bottom up, and with a lot of new information. I found especially interesting the occasional individual testimonies of how baffled many people were by the whole process, but still went along through fear and intimidation. This tells us much about such "mass movements" which were sometimes highly celebrated by the political left in the West. Some of the reviewers here suggest that the book is too negative - they appear to be non-Chinese - but virtually everyone in China who was alive at the time refers to it as one of the darkest hours in Chinese history, from both personal observations and public polling. Highly recommended for the general reader or the specialist, but be ready for a lot of micro-level detail as well as elite politics.

0Comment 8 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A sobering read....

ByD. Baylyon January 12, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A sobering history of a dark era. Mr. Dikotter does a good job of drawing disparate personal accounts into an overview of the ebbs and flows of the Cultural Revolution. Provides a picture of the personal impact of the Cultural Revolution and explains how political forces shaped the contours of the Revolution. I think I've read some who suggest that Mr. Dikotter exhibits animus in his writing about China. Perhaps elsewhere, but certainly not here. Unless the events of the book are made up, they speak for themselves with an eloquence Mr. Dikotter doesn't need or try to add to. The flat dryness of the accounts actually tends to undercut the terror and suffering rather than exaggerate it. And, finally, it diminishes the reputations of leaders beyond Mao. Deng Xiao Peng may have been a force for good after Mao, but he doesn't appear heroic at all when he shows up in the pages of this book. Same with Chou En Lai and others....

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Deserves your time and attention

By1moreon May 18, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Contrary to a few reviews i found this book invaluable in it's setting the stage for all Westerners who know virtually nothing of modern Chines times. Perhaps it's time to spend a little reading time with non fiction vs fiction to find out what the author has to say for yourself? There's some great fiction coming out of China these days. I have been reading both because these voices have something to say to all of us about the world we live in. Thank you

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Great book

ByMike Perryon May 19, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I found the book an easy read, gave me a great overview of cultural revolution. My interest lies in European history but the book was well written exceptional sources. It has peaked interest in modern China.

0Comment 10 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

It is beyond the average American's ability to imagine what ...

ByDHon September 10, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

It is beyond the average American's ability to imagine what actually occurred in China during this time period. I couple of times while reading the book, I Googled the information being discussed because I could not believe it could be true. It was. This book should be required reading for anyone who questions the need for the 1st or 2nd amendments.

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Outstranding scholarship.

ByAl Palon August 3, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Loved it. As one who spent 25 years among the Chinese of Taiwan and numerous trips into China, this man knows his stuff and has given us a profound new contribution to understanding how China developed under Mao - and how they got where they now are. A grim story akin to what Hitler did to the Jews during his mad reign.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Most Recent Customer Reviews

The Cultural Revolution: A People's History, 1962―1976

Required reading school book

Published 18 days ago by Joe

Exactly what I wanted

Great, exactly what I wanted, something in depth and authoritative and that's what this is.

Published 21 days ago by Simon P

A window into Hell

Excellent. A window into Hell. Atrocities and chaos orchestrated by Mao to solidify his power.

Published 22 days ago by JohnTwain

The Revolution That Failed

The Cultural Revolution has failed, at least on an ideological level. The revisionist plot to overthrow communism has succeeded, and capitalism (with Chinese characteristics) is...Read more

Published 1 month ago by dmiguer

Five Stars

Thanks

Published 1 month ago by Beth Bryant

Cultural revolution a tragedy viewed from behind the curtain

It is fascinating to see how masses of people reacted with violence to the slogans dreamed up by dogmatic leaders
Might happen in the least expected places like....here

Published 1 month ago by Mike Kazeef

Four Stars

Book arrived in good condtion

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer

Harbinger?

Reading this great book exploring how China dealt with the despotic and chaotic rule of Mao and his zealot followers raised many and disturbing questions about the threat our...Read more

Published 2 months ago by Otter Jotter

One of the best book by one of the best Chinese history authors.

I'll start by mentioning I'm a big fan of the author's methodology, and perspective.

I view his books on the topic of the CCP as a labor of love, to tell the epic...Read more

Published 2 months ago by Kevin

Five Stars

fascinating account of a really terrible time.

Published 3 months ago by Barry W. Ickes

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