Title: Disappointingly biased history
Review: I am no Mao fan; nor am I a Mao apologist. There is no doubt that the Chinese people suffered greatly during the whims of Mao's reign, and that many people continue to suffer today. However, my objections to this book is that it is painted as a scholarly work, and as it is one of the most biased histories I have ever read, I find that I view the whole work as flawed.There are many sweeping assumptions about Mao's motivations, gleaned from scant or small pieces of evidence, or interviews with third parties. Some of them seem so far fetched that I found myself cringing.I have read "Wild Swans" and enjoyed it as much as can be said for such a harrowing story. However it is with this knowledge that I can see what the authors are trying to achieve with this book. They do achieve it, and have stirred up considerable controversy with this work, but I feel some of the scholarly merit has been lost in the ranting.
Is this product review negative?