Mao's Little Red Book: A Global History - Softcover

Cook, Alexander C.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1107665647 ISBN 13: 9781107665644

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2014

Synopsis

Mao's Little Red Book

About this title

Review:

'Alex Cook's collection of essays on Quotations from Chairman Mao explains this global phenomenon of the 1960s and uses it as a window to explore wider issues, from Chinese politics and society, to traveling theory across Asia, Africa and Europe, to popular appropriation of state ideologies. Contributions by specialists in Mao's works, history, international politics, literary theory, and music reveal the astonishing power of Mao's writings and what that tells us about ourselves.' Timothy Cheek, University of British Columbia

'If transnational history is the thing these days, this strong collection of essays on the worldly travels of and local interpretive possibilities opened by Mao's Little Red Book in the 1960s and beyond, is a model of its kind. Topically coherent, strongly analytical, and surprisingly broad in its coverage, this anthology will undoubtedly become a great companion for classroom use and scholarly reference. A good read; a great book!' Rebecca E. Karl, New York University

'The most printed book in its time, Quotations from Chairman Mao is an ideal case study for a global intellectual history. Showing how its message travelled the world like a laser refracted into a thousand colours, Alexander Cook and his contributors have offered up a delightful and provocative pattern no one scholar could have assembled. Their chapters make up an exciting new picture of the global 1960s and their aftermath - and of the political upheaval that a text's readings can both reflect and abet.' Samuel Moyn, James Bryce Professor, Columbia University, and author of The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History (2010)

'Its earliest editions may have been blue and green, we now learn, but it is as the Little Red Book that the Quotations from Chairman Mao became known the world over. Half a century ago, its pithy slogans energized and guided restless revolutionaries in places as far apart as Oakland, Dar es Salam, Paris and Ayacucho. In this groundbreaking critical history, the authors weave sympathetic understanding and perceptive analyses into a fascinating account of the book and its global influence.' Michael Schoenhals, Lund University, editor of China's Cultural Revolution, 1966–1969: Not a Dinner Party (1996) and co-author of Mao's Last Revolution (2006)

'This compilation of fifteen essays, each by a different author, on the impact of the book worldwide marks a fascinating attempt to understand why it reached such a wide audience ...' Ben Chacko, Morning Star

'... contains much that is of interest ... illuminating.' New Statesman

'Published on the fiftieth anniversary of the earliest printing of Mao's Little Red Book, Cook's edited volume explores the local and global impacts and gripping narratives of the pocket-size text. ... a trove of fascinating articles by leading scholars of several fields. ... A collection of interesting and well-researched articles on an understudied topic, this edited volume is an exemplary transnational and multidisciplinary project. It should be of interest to readers from diverse backgrounds. Summing up: highly recommended.' P. B. Guingona, Choice

Book Description:

On the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Quotations from Chairman Mao, this edited volume is the first to examine the Little Red Book as a global historical phenomenon, challenging established ideas about the book and re-examining the history of the twentieth-century world.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1107665647
• ISBN 13: 9781107665644
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304