Mao: The Man Who Made China

“Philip Short is a British journalist and has written a very good one-volume biography of Mao. It’s not short, but Mao’s was a long life. Mao is a difficult person about whom to write a biography. Firstly, not all the facts are known: this is, after all, still a communist country. A lot is known, but the records are not available. Secondly, Mao has been surrounded by so many myths that it’s difficult sometimes to penetrate them. Some of the biographies of Mao…are indictments…They’re written mainly to highlight the monstrous qualities of Mao, which were there in abundance. Short is not writing an indictment—though an indictment of Mao is certainly possible to construct from his volume.” Read more...

The Best Biographies of 20th Century Leaders

Michael Mandelbaum, International Relation