Mao Zedong

Children's Literature

Mao Zedong (1893-1976) helped found the Chinese Communist Party and rose with it to power. As leader of the party, he transformed his country into the People's Republic of China, and was head of state from 1949 until his death. Mao was a master manipulator and a determined student. He was born before the start of the 20th century into a country that was shocked by the changes beginning to undermine its imperial society. As the Chinese Communist Party grew, Mao grew with it. Mao began to build his own power base as leader of the party. He masterminded military strategies and plotted political moves that would eventually take him to the top. In 1949 he declared China a People's Republic and became leader of 600 million people whose country was in chaos. In the '60s he launched the Cultural Revolution, a campaign to rid the country of traditional ways. Some persons probably would not read this book if it were in a different format unless they were interested in the subject. This physical layout is easy and attractive for everyone. In fact, it invites you into the subject and person by using large print and inserts with additional information on pages. The photographs and maps are most helpful and very well presented. Additional helps are a glossary, a who's who, a time line, and an index. Look for other books in the "Twentieth-Century History Makers" series. 2003, Raintree/Steck-Vaughn Publishers,
— Naomi Butler

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Covering the life of the Chinese leader, Faulkner mentions his wives and children as well as his political and military campaigns. However, she seems curiously hostile to her subject, highlighting his frequent betrayals of colleagues, describing him as a "smart, shrewd, manipulative and devious master of propaganda-the complete politician," and relegating his achievements in uniting a fractious nation to the last three sentences of the final chapter. Especially when describing his early career, the author frequently attributes thoughts and feelings to him with no documentation to back them up. She does describe China's weak and divided state, though readers without background information will benefit from consulting a good encyclopedia. The writing style is clear and lively, though Faulkner barely does justice to the complexity of Chinese political life. The illustrations and graphic design uphold high standards: contemporary photographs are well chosen and keyed to accompanying text, shaded text boxes provide appropriate detail, and a few maps provide geographic context. The glossary, "Who's who," chronology, and index are well done, though the list for further reading is quite skimpy, and there is no list of sources. Rebecca Stefoff's Mao Zedong (Millbrook, 1996) is more evenhanded and engagingly written, and Faulkner does not present any substantial information that is not in that book.-Jonathan Betz-Zall, City University Library, Everett, WA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.