This detailed biography chronicles Mao’s life from his obscure beginnings as a peasant’s son to his rise as the colossus who was to govern a quarter of mankind for a quarter of a century. Through it emerges a tireless and shrewd politician who was also the wildest of dreamers; a romantic and artist trying to draw beautiful pictures on the ‘blank sheets’ of the Chinese peasantry.
From the reminiscences of his wives, his friends, and those who knew Mao all through his life, Dick Wilson draws out a revealing picture of ‘the People’s Emperor’ to provide the most lively and definitive biography of Mao in our lifetime.