Mao Zedong: A Life (A Penguin Life)

Spence certainly succeeds in compressing most of the major events of Mao's life into this thin volume, and concisely reviews much of Mao's political thought and how it evolved. He also does a good job of mining source materials, particularly some of Mao's more obscure writing and poetry. But my major frustration in reading this book was a feeling that I never learned much about Mao as an individual human being, except that he came from obscure bourgeois peasant roots, that he was "married" at least four times and had at least ten children with whom he had rather distant relationships, and that as the years passed, he became more and more of a megalomaniac. I would also fault the book for giving minimal attention to the history of the times and to Mao's principal comrades in arms. (For example, Zhou Enlai does not appear until the final quarter of the book and gets minimal mention at that. The Long March gets only 2-3 pages.) Also somehwat curious is that the book lacks an index.

All of that said, however, this is a remarkably informative book given its length. I should emphasize that the text on each page measures lightly under 6 x 4 inches, too--so not only is it a short book, but also a small book. I put the book down eager to learn more about Mao, which I suppose does commend it to other readers who know as little as I did before I read it.


An incomplete biography   November 26, 2000
Unsatisfied (Redwood City, CA USA)
18 out of 20 found this review helpful

For better or worse, I'm a vetran reader of Mao biographies. Jonathan Spence's biography was intially appealing given both his history of success in writing about the Chinese revolution and the relatively compact nature of this book. Given that I hadn't read a Mao article or bio in a little while, I was hoping Mr. Spence's book would be a Mao refresher with some added perspectives and insight only Mr. Spence could give. Although wrong in the second sense and right in the first, the book did prove to be interesting.

The book is, and I imagine by design, a very incomplete look at Mao's life. For example, only until well after the half way point is there any mention of the all important Zhou En-Lai. In the same sense, Mr. Spence chooses only to provide very specific details and stories regarding Mao's life. Thus, the perception of Mao isn't really of human but a slogan of some sort. If this is a reader's first Mao biography, I imagine the reader to be both confused and wanting after reading the book.

Instead, Mr. Spence chooses to focus specifically on the question of why China went nuts for Mao, and what Mao role in this was. Because of this, despite the length, the book was a success. As a result, the book is a commentary on Chinese culture through the Mao period, and a note on demigods. Passages about Mao, and the book as a whole are targeted to answer these questions.

For the Novice Mao reader, I'm convinced the book will be a disapointment. Conversely, this book is in an interpretation of China through a difficult period explained through one character: Mao.


An Excellent Introduction   March 27, 2000
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This is a brief introduction to the life of Mao for the non-specialist. As such, it fufills its mission beautifully. Short, very readable and highly reccomended.

A common error in book reviewing is reviewing the book you wanted the author to have written, and not the book at hand. Spence's book isn't a definitive biography of Mao, but it was never intended to be.