Anne F. Thurston

Rather than some "expert" who never met Chairman Mao, this book is written by his doctor. That doesn't mean that every word has to be taken as gospel, but Zhisui Li does make a believable picture of a dictator.

One of the wisest sayings is, "All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." and this book is the proof. I suspect that Mao started as a well meaning leader but, couldn't handle the adulation which, over time, turned to fear. He became a monster who viewed human life in numbers.… (mehr)

This is an intriguing read on the levels of personal memoir, politics, history, and storytelling. It is knowingly provocative and, it seems, as honest as possible about the disagreements it provokes. The writer notes not just the necessity of multiple perspectives on complex situations, but also what may be done to keep filling in more perspectives (which are where info/data comes from). In other words, hear and articulate what is remembered, documented, and collaborated or conflicting. Weigh the authorities. Support the collection of more evidence, from more angles. Plus I learned and grew more curious about a lot of stuff. And the character is always fascinating. So, good.… (mehr)

To be sure, Mao Tse Tung was a bit of a prick. There, I've said it. The Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party he may have been but he was a queer duck, and his personal doctor Li Zhi-Sui was there to record Mao's many foibles.

We get an indepth look at Mao's health, his refusal to brush his tea, preferring to drink tea, his peccadilloes and the good doctor's waning faith in Mao. What sticks in my mind is Mao's constipation, so bad that the good doctor was forced to use his fingers to dig out hard stools. What made this so memorable though was the translator's phrase to describe using his fingers to dig out hard stools; "digital manipulation". Now, whenever I hear someone say "let's digitally manipulate that" I wince.… (mehr)