The Private Life of Chairman Mao

From 1954 until Mao Zedong's death 22 years later. Dr. Li Zhisui was the Chinese ruler's personal physician. For most of these years, Mao was in excellent health; thus he and the doctor had time to discuss political and personal matters. Dr. Li recorded many of these conversations in his diaries, as well as in his memory. In this book, Dr. Li vividly reconstructs his extraordinary time with Chairman Mao. of illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Highly recomended

By Tom Munro "tomfrombrunswick" - January 8, 2001

This book opens with one of the most hilarious opening chapters of a book that I have read. Mao has just died and in what had become a tradition for Communist regimes his body had to be preserved to be kept on display. The problem was that on one knew how to preserve bodies. Calls were made to Lenin's Tomb and to the display in which Ho chi Min was kept all to no avail. It appeared that Lenin's mummification had not worked well as his nose had fallen off. A substitute nose had to be put in place. The feedback was to ring America as they were good at that sort of thing. A call to America suggested filling the blood stream with formaldehyde. There was a debate about how much to put in and it was decided to put in double the advised amount to make sure there were no mistakes. Mao after all was important and heads would roll (literally) if his body started to decompose. Huge amounts of formaldehyde were pumped into the body. Unfortunately it started to look like the Michelen Man. The... read more

Thoroughly Engaging Book

By Zachariah Allen - April 3, 2000

The book is highly readable, and is crammed with enough facts to make it believable. I understand that some people have challenged Dr. Li's claim to have been as close to Mao as he indicates in the book. One must either read the book and accept his claim, or deny it entirely. There is no middle ground.The book presents a picture of Chairman Mao Zedung and of China very different than one would remember from living through the era. Perhaps most interesting (did our government intelligence services have any idea of this?) is the degree to which Mao seemed to admire the United States, while all the time doing everything he could to antagonize it. But this was typical of the man Dr. Li paints, a man full of contradictions.One episode in the book (I won't spoil it) that is absolutely fascinating is Mao's reaction to three requests Krushchev made of Mao in 1958. Mao's reaction to Krushchev (defiance and rudeness) even so early on was not something I think we knew much... read more

A competentent physician and a true gentleman

By G. Stucco "mr guido" - May 14, 2006

Dr. Li Zhisui was an American educated doctor who became Chairman Mao's personal physician for over twenty years. The book he has written does not purport to be Mao's biography, but a simple and honest account of the years Dr. Li spent at the "court" of the "last Chinese Emperor." I totally agree with a previous reviewer who after finishing the book felt he had left a friend. Dr. Li comes across as a gentleman, a competent preofessional, an unrepented intellectual who learned to integrate his knowledge of medicine with the Byzantine politics of Mao's court. The poor doctor had to put up with a lot of distress and suffering. He was not able to spend time with his family; he was not allowed to quit his job in Group One (the President's entourage); he had to fend off Jiang Qing relentless attacks; he had to care for Mao, who did not believe in medicine and was most uncooperative when it came to being treated. In the early years he admired Mao, but following the purge of Marshal Peng... read more

AVAILABILITY
Merchant	Format	Price
Amazon US	Paperback	$1.79 - $25.00
eBooks.com	Digital (PDF)	$19.99
BookByte	Paperback	$17.21
eCampus	Paperback	~~$16.25~~ discount!