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Mao's Little Red Book: A Global History
Mao Zedong's Little Red Book (Quotations from Chairman Mao) - a compilation of the Chinese leader's speeches and writings - is one of the most visible and ubiquitous symbols of twentieth-century radicalism. Published for the first time in 1964, it rapidly became the must-have accessory for Red Guards and revolutionaries from Berkeley to Bamako. Yet, despite its worldwide circulation and enduring presence there has, until now, been no serious scholarly effort to understand this seminal text as a global historical phenomenon. Mao's Little Red Book brings together a range of innovative scholars from around the world to explore the fascinating variety of uses and forms that Mao's Quotations has taken, from rhetoric, art and song, to talisman, badge, and weapon. The authors of this pioneering volume use Mao's Quotations as a medium through which to re-examine the history of the twentieth-century world, challenging established ideas about the book to reveal its remarkable global impact.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 27, 2014
Honestly, I really struggled reading this book. I had a hard time getting into the book and I had a somewhat challenging time keeping up with the information. I had never heard of Mao's Little Red Book before reading this book about it, so I probably should have done some pre-research into the topic as I found myself a little lost on the history. I'm sure for those who have at least heard of the Little Red Book before, this will be a somewhat easier read.
The writing in this book was alright... I wasn't blown away by the author's writing skills but I wasn't crying over the authors lack of skill either. The authors fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum- while somewhat confusing at times, they still manage to get the point across relatively smoothly.
In the end, I did learn a little something about the Little Red Book and some history, but I wouldn't recommend this book unless you're genuinely interested in learning more on the topic that you already have some previous knowledge of.
I received this book for review purposes via NetGalley.
The writing in this book was alright... I wasn't blown away by the author's writing skills but I wasn't crying over the authors lack of skill either. The authors fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum- while somewhat confusing at times, they still manage to get the point across relatively smoothly.
In the end, I did learn a little something about the Little Red Book and some history, but I wouldn't recommend this book unless you're genuinely interested in learning more on the topic that you already have some previous knowledge of.
I received this book for review purposes via NetGalley.
October 17, 2019
A beautiful book. On our approved list. Tiannenmen Square never happened
October 8, 2020
Once Mao Tse-tung's thought is grasped by the broad masses, it becomes a source of strength and a spiritual atom bomb of infinite power. ~ Lin Biao
Alexander C. Cook has put together a great book about the second most read book in the world. The Quotations of Chairman Mao, or simply Mao's Little Red Book, took the world by storm and created fans as well as enemies. Cook put together the a collection of scholarly essays from experienced scholars in this extremely well documented book. The amount of documentation and citations is well above and beyond what I would have expected. The writing is clear, to the point, and gives a variety of viewpoints.
Mao's quotations on revolution and socialism may seem dated to many casual readers or those without a history or political science background. But it must be remembered that the world was a very different place fifty years ago. Fifty years may not seem like a great deal of time, but a great deal of change happens over a fifty year period. Consider that World War II and the Desert Storm were fifty years apart and think of the changes weapons, technology, and economies.
Mao's Little Red Book covers the effect it had in China and around the world. The Little Red Book was originally intended for the People's Army as a tool to keep moral, dedication, and the revolutionary spirit live and well. The demand from the public for a copy was overwhelming. The printing office needed to outsource the production of the book to try and keep up with the demand. Having a copy was a sign of pride and duty for the average citizen. It was quoted and brought up even in casual conversations. It did create a cult of Mao though. That may seem strange and on par with the Kim Il dynasty in North Korea, but it was not that odd in China. Collected quotes had a long history in Chinese culture going back to the Confucius.
The book was taken in different ways throughout the world. Originally not intended for outside use, even to the point of Chinese officials asking that visitors return any copies of The Little Red Book that they may have. The government felt that outsiders would not get the proper message in context by reading the small sampling and urged interested people to instead read the more complete volumes. China did print The Little Red Book in a few languages, and then more including Swahili. The Swahili edition was published for Tanzania and made available at a very low cost. The problem there, however, even with the support the government, was with the people. High illiteracy rates made even a very inexpensive book almost useless. This was fixed with broadcasts of from Radio Peking in East Africa.
The book although widely popular in many parts of the world was a complete flop in the Soviet Union. China and the USSR had a difference of opinion that sometimes lead to bloodshed. China saw revolution as active and the USSR believed it achieved all there was. Mao said the Soviet Union lost its way with industrialization; the people no longer poor or agrarian had lost touch with the revolution. The book also was not a hit in the Western Hemisphere. In America, outside of Berkeley and the Black Panthers, it had little effect. Although South and Latin America had more than their share of communist influence, it was mostly from Moscow. The exception, however, was on of the most well known revolutionary/terror groups in the Western Hemisphere: The Shining Path.
The use of different scholars and different regional expertise gives Mao's Little Red Book: A Global History far more range, coverage, and grasp on how Mao's little book influenced the world and where it succeeded and where it failed and more importantly why. The book may be above the grasp of the causal history reader, but well worth the read to those with an interest and a background. It is probably one of the more heavily documented books I have read outside of graduate school. Footnotes take up significantly more space than most mass marketed nonfiction books usually use. An excellent scholarly examination.
Alexander C. Cook has put together a great book about the second most read book in the world. The Quotations of Chairman Mao, or simply Mao's Little Red Book, took the world by storm and created fans as well as enemies. Cook put together the a collection of scholarly essays from experienced scholars in this extremely well documented book. The amount of documentation and citations is well above and beyond what I would have expected. The writing is clear, to the point, and gives a variety of viewpoints.
Mao's quotations on revolution and socialism may seem dated to many casual readers or those without a history or political science background. But it must be remembered that the world was a very different place fifty years ago. Fifty years may not seem like a great deal of time, but a great deal of change happens over a fifty year period. Consider that World War II and the Desert Storm were fifty years apart and think of the changes weapons, technology, and economies.
Mao's Little Red Book covers the effect it had in China and around the world. The Little Red Book was originally intended for the People's Army as a tool to keep moral, dedication, and the revolutionary spirit live and well. The demand from the public for a copy was overwhelming. The printing office needed to outsource the production of the book to try and keep up with the demand. Having a copy was a sign of pride and duty for the average citizen. It was quoted and brought up even in casual conversations. It did create a cult of Mao though. That may seem strange and on par with the Kim Il dynasty in North Korea, but it was not that odd in China. Collected quotes had a long history in Chinese culture going back to the Confucius.
The book was taken in different ways throughout the world. Originally not intended for outside use, even to the point of Chinese officials asking that visitors return any copies of The Little Red Book that they may have. The government felt that outsiders would not get the proper message in context by reading the small sampling and urged interested people to instead read the more complete volumes. China did print The Little Red Book in a few languages, and then more including Swahili. The Swahili edition was published for Tanzania and made available at a very low cost. The problem there, however, even with the support the government, was with the people. High illiteracy rates made even a very inexpensive book almost useless. This was fixed with broadcasts of from Radio Peking in East Africa.
The book although widely popular in many parts of the world was a complete flop in the Soviet Union. China and the USSR had a difference of opinion that sometimes lead to bloodshed. China saw revolution as active and the USSR believed it achieved all there was. Mao said the Soviet Union lost its way with industrialization; the people no longer poor or agrarian had lost touch with the revolution. The book also was not a hit in the Western Hemisphere. In America, outside of Berkeley and the Black Panthers, it had little effect. Although South and Latin America had more than their share of communist influence, it was mostly from Moscow. The exception, however, was on of the most well known revolutionary/terror groups in the Western Hemisphere: The Shining Path.
The use of different scholars and different regional expertise gives Mao's Little Red Book: A Global History far more range, coverage, and grasp on how Mao's little book influenced the world and where it succeeded and where it failed and more importantly why. The book may be above the grasp of the causal history reader, but well worth the read to those with an interest and a background. It is probably one of the more heavily documented books I have read outside of graduate school. Footnotes take up significantly more space than most mass marketed nonfiction books usually use. An excellent scholarly examination.
June 7, 2014
There’s no good pretending this is an easy or a light read, but my goodness, it’s a very interesting one! I’d never given Mao’s Little Red Book much thought before. For me, it was just a book that everyone in China had to have and occasionally wave about. But evidently there’s a lot more to it than that, and this collection of 15 academic essays sets out to show just how widespread and often revered it became. And most definitely not just in China but throughout the world, where it has been adopted and used by various left-wing ideologies for their own ends – in some cases more as a badge of a allegiance rather than something to be studied. It’s had such a global impact, from Peru to France, from Italy to Yugoslavia. The essays collected here are by different authors, all with a particular interest in their field of enquiry, and although some I found more interesting than others, they all have something to offer, even to the non-specialist and non-scholarly reader. Probably a general reader such as myself isn’t necessarily going to want to read every word (especially the multitude of footnotes!) but I feel that any reader will find something here to learn and even be entertained by. An unusual and fascinating study of this little, but very influential, red book.
February 28, 2023
Love this book. Great contributions to an insightful volume on global intellectual history and global China. Also great work from Alexander Cook as always.
October 17, 2019
The ramblings of a madman drink with the power communism and superssion has afforded him. The crib is here I’m fucked lol
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2022
Very thought-provoking and well-written, although a few of the chapters (ex. Peru) aren't really centered on the Little Red Book.
January 2, 2026
Educational, well-researched overview of the use and misuse of the Little Red Book, somewhat free from the common neoliberal biases.
September 30, 2014
I received a reviewer's copy of this book on Netgalley.
This is a thematic academic essay collection.The book is based around the idea of the little red books as an export product: as a tangible, digestible symbol of Maoism that other groups and nations could get their teeth into, to promote or to ban.
The first four chapters of the book are essays on the book’s function inside of China, I was particularly interested to read how Mao felt about the book (apparently he had mixed feelings about this Snickers Fun Size version of his philosophies), as well as how the book was at sometimes promoted abroad, but the then also exporting it was sometimes suppressed in favor of more complete versions of Mao’s writings. The rest of the chapters focus on specific communism movements inside other countries and how they related to the little red book and by extension Chinese communism, including India, the Soviet Union, and America.
I haven’t studied modern Chinese history since undergrad, and I had no trouble following it, so if you’re interested in labor or political history this is a nice pick.
This is a thematic academic essay collection.The book is based around the idea of the little red books as an export product: as a tangible, digestible symbol of Maoism that other groups and nations could get their teeth into, to promote or to ban.
The first four chapters of the book are essays on the book’s function inside of China, I was particularly interested to read how Mao felt about the book (apparently he had mixed feelings about this Snickers Fun Size version of his philosophies), as well as how the book was at sometimes promoted abroad, but the then also exporting it was sometimes suppressed in favor of more complete versions of Mao’s writings. The rest of the chapters focus on specific communism movements inside other countries and how they related to the little red book and by extension Chinese communism, including India, the Soviet Union, and America.
I haven’t studied modern Chinese history since undergrad, and I had no trouble following it, so if you’re interested in labor or political history this is a nice pick.
May 13, 2014
This book of scholarly essays highlights the global impact of the Little Red Book and the cult of Mao during and beyond the 1960s. Very, very interesting, although I'd warn you that the authors take for granted that you already have some familiarity with Chinese culture, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and pop culture. While some of the essays were more interesting (to me) than others, I'd still highly recommend this to anybody interested in how Maoist politics impacted other cultures.
March 9, 2014
Interesting account of the local appropriation of Mao's ideas
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews