A Critical Introduction to Mao [Paperback]

Leading scholars offer a critical evaluation of the life and legacy of China's most famous - some would say infamous - son.Mao Zedongs political career spanned more than half a century. The ideas he championed transformed one of the largest nations on earth and inspired revolutionary movements across the world. Even today Mao lives on in China, where he is regarded by many as a near-mythical figure, and in the West, where a burgeoning literature continues to debate his memory. In this book, leading scholars from different generations and around the world offer a critical evaluation of the life and legacy of Chinas most famous  some would say infamous  son.Mao Zedongs political career spanned more than half a century. The ideas he championed transformed one of the largest nations on earth and inspired revolutionary movements across the world. Even today Mao lives on in China, where he is regarded by many as a near-mythical figure, and in the West, where a burgeoning literature continues to debate his memory. In this book, leading scholars from different generations and around the world offer a critical evaluation of the life and legacy of Chinas most famous  some would say infamous  son.Mao Zedongs political career spanned more than half a century. The ideas he championed transformed one of the largest nations on earth and inspired revolutionary movements across the world. Even today Mao lives on in China, where he is regarded by many as a near-mythical figure, and in the West, where a burgeoning literature continues to debate his memory. In this book, leading scholars from different generations and around the world offer a critical evaluation of the life and legacy of Chinas most famous  some would say infamous  son. In the first section, chapters explore the historical and political context of Maos emergence as a young man and revolutionary in the early twentieth century. Through this period it is possible to examine the nature of Maos ideology in itsls£