The most general and probably the most lasting expression of Mao
Tse-Tung's contribution to the Chinese revolution was his thought.
Stuart Schram's new book examines the unfolding of Mao's ideas, and in
doing so sheds new light on other aspects of Mao Tse-Tung's life and
times. The author traces the stages in the formation of Mao's thought
from the May Fourth period through the Peasant Movement, the long years
of armed struggle against the Kuomintang and the Japanese invaders, the
foundation of a new state, his efforts to devise a "Chinese road to
socialism," the Sino-Soviet split, and the so-called "Great Proletarian
Cultural Revolution." The author offers a fascinating and sure-footed
analysis of Mao's intellectual itinerary, recognizing the positive value
of the participatory and anti-bureaucratic thrust of his thought, and of
his efforts to link Marxism with Chinese reality. This authoritative
text is drawn from Volumes 13 and 15 of The Cambridge History of China,
with the addition of a new Introduction and Conclusion written
especially for the volume.