Mao Zedong and China in the Twentieth-Century World: A Concise History: Asia-Pacific: Culture, Politics, and Society

Throughout  this lively and concise historical account of Mao Zedong's life and  thought, Rebecca E. Karl places the revolutionary leader's personal  experiences, social visions and theory, military strategies, and  developmental and foreign policies in a dynamic narrative of the Chinese  revolution. She situates Mao and the revolution in a global setting  informed by imperialism, decolonization, and third worldism, and  discusses worldwide trends in politics, the economy, military power, and  territorial sovereignty. Karl begins with Mao's early life in a small  village in Hunan province, documenting his relationships with his  parents, passion for education, and political awakening during the fall  of the Qing dynasty in late 1911. She traces his transition from  liberal to Communist over the course of the next decade, his early  critiques of the subjugation of women, and the gathering force of the  May 4th movement for reform and radical change. Describing Mao's rise to  power, she delves into the dynamics of Communist organizing in an  overwhelmingly agrarian society, and Mao's confrontations with Chiang  Kai-shek and other nationalist conservatives. She also considers his  marriages and romantic liaisons and their relation to Mao as the  revolutionary founder of Communism in China. The book is published by Duke University Press.