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The Tragedy of Liberation Spiral-Bound | 2018-01-09

Frank Dikötter

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A groundbreaking chronicle of the violent early years of the People's Republic of China, by the author of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize-winning Mao's Great Famine.

"The Chinese Communist party refers to its victory in 1949 as a 'liberation.' In China the story of liberation and the revolution that followed is not one of peace, liberty, and justice. It is first and foremost a story of calculated terror and systematic violence." So begins Frank Dikötter's stunning chronicle of Mao Zedong's ascension and campaign to transform the Chinese into what the party called New People. Following the defeat of Chiang Kai-shek in 1949 in a bloody civil war, Mao hoisted the red flag over Beijing's Forbidden City, and the world watched as the Communist revolution began to wash away the old order. Little has been known before now about the eight years that followed, preceding the massive famine and Great Leap Forward.

Drawing on previously classified documents and interweaving stories of ordinary citizens with tales of the brutal politics of Mao's court, Frank Dikötter illuminates those who shaped the "liberation" and the horrific policies they implemented in the name of progress. People of all walks of life were caught up in the tragedy that unfolded, and whether or not they supported the revolution, all of them were asked to write confessions and denounce their friends. Told with great narrative sweep, The Tragedy of Liberation is a powerful document that casts new light on the foundations of one of the most powerful regimes of the twenty-first century.

Publisher: Macmillan
Original Binding: Trade Paperback
Pages: 416 pages
ISBN-10: 1408886359
Item Weight: 0.65 lbs
Dimensions: 5.0 x 1.1 x 7.7 inches
"Frank Dikötter's The Tragedy of Liberation just might force Mao's fans to look reality in the eye--and grow up." --The Wall Street Journal

"The Tragedy of Liberation is a tightly-written narrative of the twelve most pivotal years in modern Chinese history . . . a dispassionate study of the way nations can pervert optimism and descend into lunacy by steady increments . . . it is essential reading." --The Times

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.