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dom_millennium's review against another edition
4.0
THE GOOD: Well-research, in-depth look at a very small portion of a country's history.
THE BAD: This is only part 1 of a long 3 part series.
THE UGLY: The atrocities and needless suffering by the people who could not escape.
scipio_africanus's review against another edition
4.0
Man. What a heavy read with no breaks in the torment. Volume 1 of 3 on the Chinese Communist revolution. Gonna need to take a moment before tackling volume 2. Very in depth account of the CCP Revolution. Hundreds of pages of violence, torture, famine, and all around misery. The depths of human depravity and callous cruelty. Could be a bit of a grind at times but got through it.
binstonbirchill's review against another edition
4.0
In The Tragedy of Liberation Frank Dikotter runs through the civil war, land reform, the Korean War and the Bamboo Curtain, thought control, Mao’s emulation of Stalin’s Soviet Union, the impact of Khrushchev’s Secret Speech, and once Mao saw the criticism that he invited the book ends with his purging of the “rightists.”
Throughout his general overview of these events Dikötter provides statistics as well as individual stories of hope (often brief) and despair (often final). The impact of Stalin’s Soviet Union cannot be underestimated. The conditions were different but the same roadmap was used, with predictable results.
“One of the first tasks of the work team was to divide the villagers into five classes, closely mirroring what had been done in the Soviet Union: ‘landlords', 'rich peasants', 'middle peasants', poor peasants and labour-ers. This took place in endless meetings in the evening, as the work teams pored over the life stories of each and every villager with information gathered from newly recruited activists. The challenge was that none of these artificial class distinctions actually corresponded to the social landscape of the village, where most farmers often lived in roughly similar conditions.”
There is a lot of information but a knowledge of the Soviet model will make this rather easy to digest. This is first of Dikötter’s trilogy chronologically but the second by publication date. I’m reading them chronologically with the hope that a more in depth look at Mao is included in the next (or first) book Mao’s Great Famine.
3.8 stars
Throughout his general overview of these events Dikötter provides statistics as well as individual stories of hope (often brief) and despair (often final). The impact of Stalin’s Soviet Union cannot be underestimated. The conditions were different but the same roadmap was used, with predictable results.
“One of the first tasks of the work team was to divide the villagers into five classes, closely mirroring what had been done in the Soviet Union: ‘landlords', 'rich peasants', 'middle peasants', poor peasants and labour-ers. This took place in endless meetings in the evening, as the work teams pored over the life stories of each and every villager with information gathered from newly recruited activists. The challenge was that none of these artificial class distinctions actually corresponded to the social landscape of the village, where most farmers often lived in roughly similar conditions.”
There is a lot of information but a knowledge of the Soviet model will make this rather easy to digest. This is first of Dikötter’s trilogy chronologically but the second by publication date. I’m reading them chronologically with the hope that a more in depth look at Mao is included in the next (or first) book Mao’s Great Famine.
3.8 stars
cantordustbunnies's review against another edition
5.0
Meticulously researched and appropriately academic, this book is definitely a worthwhile read for anyone. A little on the dry side, but the subject matter is so horrifying that anything other than a mostly objective delivery could come across as inappropriate. The author does make a concerted effort to bring forth personal accounts and to humanize the statistics which pays off and keeps the book engaging on both an emotional and an intellectual level. It is considered "second" in the series the author has written on China but first chronologically and it is better to read the books in chronological order. It is almost unbelievable to think that these things happened. The information is presented well and Dikötter allows it to speak for itself for the most part, he is unobtrusive as an author and presents things in a clear manner.
fourtriplezed's review against another edition
4.0
A very good read by Frank Dikötter. He covers from the time of the civil war up to the Great Leap Forward. Civil wars are rarely anything but brutal, 2.5 million deaths is a figure bandied by various sources. Dikötter covers this early and not with too much length but once past he delves deeply into the early years of CP rule with initial purging of those not connected with the regime, the beginnings of the Bamboo Curtain, collectivisation measures and the attempt to reform thought. Political prisoners, made up of not just those that opposed the CP but those that failed to conform, was very interesting reading indeed. For anyone interested in this period of Chinese history this is a must read. In the end I have come out of this book, and also refer back to his brilliant, tragic and griping Mao's Great Famine, wondering if the present day Chinese consider these brutal years of Mao and reflect on the present prosperity under the CP. I look forward to Dikötter's next book on the Cultural Revolution
readers_block's review against another edition
4.0
A super interesting look at the Communist takeover of China after the Civil War.
I'm extremely interested in this period of history so I'm planning on reading all three of these, and this was my first. Found it to be super insightful, extremely disturbing and focused enough on the on the ground situation (rather than fully focused on the politics), to make it a great read for me.
I'm extremely interested in this period of history so I'm planning on reading all three of these, and this was my first. Found it to be super insightful, extremely disturbing and focused enough on the on the ground situation (rather than fully focused on the politics), to make it a great read for me.
spoetnik's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5
This book taught me that Mao probably didn't read 1984.
jasonfurman's review against another edition
4.0
A brutal book, sometimes to the point of being repetitive, about the Chinese liberation--the triumph of Mao over the Chiang Kai-shek and the first year's of the People's Republic of China including the consolidation of the Communist party's control, land reform, thought reform, and briefly at the end the "hundred flowers bloom" period setting up the Great Leap Forward that is covered in the next volume of the trilogy. The book focuses on the consequences of all of this for the people of China--the ways in which the communists set quotas for killing (which were more often floors than ceilings), their network of concentration camps, how collectivization became serfdom, etc. He argues that while China appeared to progress enormously through 1956 the people themselves were materially much worse off in terms of food, healthcare, living accommodations, etc. Frank Dikötter traces all of this directly to Mao's desire to be more Stalinist than Stalin, documenting the ways in which Mao became worse after Stalin's restraint was gone after 1953.
The Tragedy of Liberation depicts nothing at all redeeming about the communist control of China, all of the violence is directly attributed to the ignorance and vainglory of Mao, with little role for broader political or social developments--beyond a describioption of Mao's love/hate relationship with Stalin and the impact that events in the Eastern Bloc had on China--including Kruschev's secret speech and Hungary's revolt.
This is the first in a trilogy--the next volume covers the Great Leap Forward and associated famine. The last volume covers The Cultural Revolution. I will certainly be reading them.
The Tragedy of Liberation depicts nothing at all redeeming about the communist control of China, all of the violence is directly attributed to the ignorance and vainglory of Mao, with little role for broader political or social developments--beyond a describioption of Mao's love/hate relationship with Stalin and the impact that events in the Eastern Bloc had on China--including Kruschev's secret speech and Hungary's revolt.
This is the first in a trilogy--the next volume covers the Great Leap Forward and associated famine. The last volume covers The Cultural Revolution. I will certainly be reading them.