I feel as though I come to this biography from a different route than many others. I would imagine that most people who pick up 'Mao: The Unknown Story' are probably already familiar with 'Wild Swans' - Jung Chang's bestselling family autobiography that sold over ten million copies and became a worldwide sensation. However, when I first bought 'Mao' (studying post world war II China in A-Level meant that I had to buy the biography, despite the dread that having to read such an enormous book inspired in me!) I had no idea that Chang was already such a well-known author. The first thing to note about 'Mao' is it's sheer readability. Coming from a person who, if ...  Read the complete review

The first thing I should probably point out before starting this review is that this is not the kind of book that ordinarily I would read but, after finishing Wild Swans by the same author last year, I became deeply interested in this paticular period of Chinese history and wanted to discover just how one man could come to have so much terrifying power and influence over a country. I read Wild Swans as part of a read-a-long with other members of an online book group and, to be honest, this was one of the most moving books I had ever read. It was with that in mind that I picked up Mao; an epic journey through Chinese history that has taken me a whole 10 months to read! No  Read the complete review