Books similar to "Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend" but for other leaders? Mao in particular.
I just finished 'Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend' by Domenico Losurdo. I want a book exactly like that but for Mao Zedong. This quote from the book explains what I'm looking for better than I can:
"The omission of history, and especially the history of colonialism and war, is a constant in the mythology determined to transform all communist and anti-colonialist leaders into Hitler’s twin monsters."
So I want a book that cuts through the western mythology painting Mao as a big evil dictator and puts him back into the proper historical context. I want to know how and why he did what he did.
Hey, thanks! When I searched on my own, 'Mao: the unknown story' is what kept coming up. I laughed when I saw that your recommendation is a book explicitly debunking that one. I'll definitely check it out!
17
cfgaussian - 1mon
I find when it comes to topics like this it's best to read both if you have the time. Not because of some centrist BS reason like "giving both sides a chance" - we already know which side is bullshitting! - but because doing so lets you see exactly how the anti-communist propagandists lie, how they fabricate and twist the facts, how they misuse statistics and bad sources, and how best to debunk and counter their narratives - what are the weakest points of their dishonest narratives that we can attack to make the whole thing crumble?
13
Tatar_Nobility @lemmy.ml - 1mon
Not what you're looking for, but a book that definitely shares the same spirit is Silencing the Past by Michel-Rolph Trouillot, which explains how power dynamics influence the production of history by taking the Haitian revolution and its leaders as well as Colombus’ "discovery" of America as case studies.
[T]he presences and absences embodied in sources (artifacts and bodies that turn an event into fact) or archives (facts collected, thematized, and processed as documents and monuments) are neither neutral or natural. They are created. As such, they are not mere presences and absences, but mentions or silences.
Aqloy in comradeship
Books similar to "Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend" but for other leaders? Mao in particular.
I just finished 'Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend' by Domenico Losurdo. I want a book exactly like that but for Mao Zedong. This quote from the book explains what I'm looking for better than I can:
"The omission of history, and especially the history of colonialism and war, is a constant in the mythology determined to transform all communist and anti-colonialist leaders into Hitler’s twin monsters."
So I want a book that cuts through the western mythology painting Mao as a big evil dictator and puts him back into the proper historical context. I want to know how and why he did what he did.
There may be a better work out there, but for now try giving Was Mao Really a Monster? a glance.
Hey, thanks! When I searched on my own, 'Mao: the unknown story' is what kept coming up. I laughed when I saw that your recommendation is a book explicitly debunking that one. I'll definitely check it out!
I find when it comes to topics like this it's best to read both if you have the time. Not because of some centrist BS reason like "giving both sides a chance" - we already know which side is bullshitting! - but because doing so lets you see exactly how the anti-communist propagandists lie, how they fabricate and twist the facts, how they misuse statistics and bad sources, and how best to debunk and counter their narratives - what are the weakest points of their dishonest narratives that we can attack to make the whole thing crumble?
Not what you're looking for, but a book that definitely shares the same spirit is Silencing the Past by Michel-Rolph Trouillot, which explains how power dynamics influence the production of history by taking the Haitian revolution and its leaders as well as Colombus’ "discovery" of America as case studies.