This book by Yang Jisheng provides a meticulous and humane account of the Great Chinese Famine that occurred from 1958 to 1962. It details the catastrophic consequences of Mao Zedong's 'Great Leap Forward' policy, which led to widespread starvation, economic collapse, and political terror. The book analyzes the institutional and ideological factors that contributed to the famine, including the totalitarian control of the state, the concentration of power, and the propaganda mechanisms that silenced dissent. Yang Jisheng's work is based on extensive research using Chinese government sources and personal accounts, making it a powerful and important historical document.
In this book, Mao Zedong argues for the extensive use of guerrilla warfare as a necessary strategy for the Chinese to resist Japanese invasion during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He explains that guerrilla warfare is a powerful tool that can only succeed if employed by revolutionaries and if it is integrated with regular military operations. The book covers various aspects of guerrilla warfare, including its historical context, organization, and the political and military relationships between guerrilla and regular forces. Mao emphasizes the importance of the support of the local population and the need for guerrilla units to be self-disciplined and committed to the revolutionary cause[3][4][5].
Red Star Over China is a historical account written by Edgar Snow after he spent four months with the Chinese Communist leaders in 1936. The book provides the first authorized account of Mao Zedong's life, a history of the famous Long March, and insights into the men and women responsible for the Chinese revolution. It includes extensive notes on military and political developments in China, further interviews with Mao, a chronology covering 125 years of Chinese revolution, and detailed biographies of key figures. The book is significant for its unique perspective on the early years of Chinese communism and its prophetic insights into the future of the movement.
Third and final episode in the Paine trilogy!
Chinese history is full of warlords constantly challenging the capital. How could Mao not only stay in power for decades, but not even face any insurgency?
And how did Mao go from military genius to peacetime disaster - the patriotic hero who inflicted history’s worst human catastrophe on China? How can someone shrewd enough to win a civil war outnumbered 5 to 1 decide "let's have peasants make iron in their backyards" and "let's kill all the birds"?
In her lecture and our Q&A, we cover the first nationwide famine in Chinese history; Mao's lasting influence on other insurgents; broken promises to minorities and peasantry; and what Taiwan means.
Thanks so much to @Substack for running this in-person event!
Note that Sarah is doing an AMA over the next couple days on Youtube; see the pinned comment.
Watch on YouTube. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast platform.
Sponsor
Today’s episode is brought to you by Scale AI. Scale partners with the U.S. government to fuel America’s AI advantage through their data foundry. Scale recently introduced Defense Llama, Scale's latest solution available for military personnel. With Defense Llama, military personnel can harness the power of AI to plan military or intelligence operations and understand adversary vulnerabilities.
If you’re interested in learning more on how Scale powers frontier AI capabilities, go to https://scale.com/dwarkesh.
Get full access to Dwarkesh Podcast at
www.dwarkesh.com/subscribe
Dwarkesh Podcast 
