The Private Life of Chairman Mao by Li Zhisui.

A book about person who always was close to a man as Mao Zedong is interesting without doubt. Uniqueness that one – it was written by a personal doctor. Health of dictator is always a mystery. He disappears on some time and later returns without explanation as not so far, few months ago, authoritarian leaders of Nicaragua and North Korea were lost from view. Li Zhisui tells what was behind of Mao Zedong, whose sicknesses were hiding, who had provided life in time of famine and repressions, had allowance to everything and the book views on surroundings of many infamous people. A great advantage of the book that Li enriches it as specialist where in precious details describes health of people with whom he contacted.

I had uncertainties in reading on how truly was author. Did he really was career influential advices for pivotal politicians when Li always mentioned that he was evading politics? I didn’t like in writing that usually every chapter uses a soap opera’s cliffhangers and almost always it finishes in words on approach of Cultural Revolution. Sometimes I was thinking that read a fiction due of text’s structure.

Where I am totally sure – in possibility of catastrophe if one man will solely rule a country. Through Li’s book can see what devastation brings a socialism to where were adding mad ideas of Mao Zedong. The doctor’s presence in villages describes a blatant poverty. China, as country chose communism, belonged to extremely leaning in destroying of past. It wasn’t told in this book that five thousand monuments in one Beijing were eliminated in so-called Cultural Revolution. The Forbidden City was under destruction if not meddling of Zhou Enlai. A tyrant was always in book reading, but he was an obrazovanschina (educaty or smatterers.), a very good Russian word invented by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Once Map Zedong did a right thing – made a contact with the United States, which helped to create a powerful alliance against the Soviets later. Li mentioned twice a curious thing said by Mao Zedong in why he has likes Richard Nixon, which explained in rights views, because do to what they said when left talk one – do other.

Chinese usurper was paranoid what is normal for dictator as ruthless rulers of past in his ideals are not special for evil man as him. Joseph Jugashvili compared himself with Ivan IV and ordered to Sergey Eisenstein to make films on him. Chinese propaganda, as currently, criticizes the West, but Mao praised it, when any acclaim by a simple citizen of China was arrest at least. Li Zhisui’s education in the West was one of factors why he was chosen for a job to which he couldn’t say “no” to decision accepted without him. It was a damnation, because he, as everybody in entourage, must have followed abreast of totalitarian leader’s mad life, which was keeping in safety and everybody was looking for ways to persuade to accept curing procedures and avoid the tyrant from his dangerous ventures despite any time paranoid Mao Zedong could see a conspiracy and sent a person in province or prison. It was doing due of danger that leaving of Mao Zedong can turn to the end for their deputy at best. Li Zhisui’s book shows these people, who moved to high communistic positions which was with risk and where didn’t stop fighting of those who wanted to be closer to the totalitarian ruler. I haven’t regret to the author and to anybody of these evils.

I like in The Private Life of Chairman Mao contraindications of what was in newspapers and actually. Heavy sick Mao Zedong presented with a fine health for people. Great Helmer, who organized Cultural Revolution, killed sixty five million people, who died in hunger and imagined anti-Communist accusations.

NB. One of happening things what makes poverty. China was overpopulated under Mao Zedong. 552 million people in 1950 and 920,9 million in 1975. Additionally, it explains that was hardly to make career and had no choice for entertainment.

The book was written in 1994 about occasions of past decades is actual for today. Also I found curious about visit of Chinese delegation of Moscow in 1958 where Mao Zedong promised that communism will take economical dominance on capitalist countries for fifteen years. Li links on Khrushchev’s memoirs, which I didn’t read, but these author called Mao a frog, who looks on sky and thinks that knows whole world. I rewatched famous conversation, which was called the Kitchen Debate later, in the Soviets in 1959 where Khrushchev told to vice-president Richard Nixon on seven year for achieve of economical level of America and go further then.