Forgotten Voices of Mao's Great Famine, 1958-1962

By Zhou Xun,

Book cover of Forgotten Voices of Mao's Great Famine, 1958-1962: An Oral History

Book description

A powerful account of China's Great Famine as told through the voices of those who survived it

In 1958, China's revered leader Mao Zedong instituted a program designed to transform his giant nation into a Communist utopia. Called the Great Leap Forward, Mao's grand scheme-like so many other utopian dreams…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Forgotten Voices of Mao's Great Famine, 1958-1962 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book records the memories of the devastation and loss of the famine survivors, providing grass-root evidence of the man-made catastrophe.

Zhou traveled to many provinces to search and interview the survivors, with a focus on nine that were worst hit by the famine. It is emotionally hard for a survivor to recall past miseries. It is even harder, indeed emotionally traumatizing, for a researcher to go through many miseries of the survivors to get this book compiled. I admire her courage and resilience. 

From Zhang-Yue's list on understanding China’s great famine.

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