MAO The Unknown Story

This heavily researched biography (by the author of the compelling memoir WILD SWANS) sets out to destroy the self-created iconography that has surrounded Chairman Mao--and it reveals him to be one of the most ruthless murderers of the twentieth century. According to the authors, Mao's ideology was purely opportunistic and all of his actions were in calculated self-interest, no matter whom they harmed. Reader Robertson Dean's solid baritone voice is judicious, engaging, moderately paced, and effective. Some of his Chinese pronunciations do not adopt the more contemporary "pinyin" system, although most of the Chinese surnames in particular will be unfamiliar to the casual Western listener anyway. This is a long listen, but the authors deliver and so does the reader. D.R.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 07]