An eye-opening book to the brutality of this monster, which explodes the myths still believed about him. Jung Chang has superbly tackled the incredibly difficult task of trying to determine the truth in a country and time where propaganda and revisionism were commonplace and the historical records are still kept secret many years after the events. This book will enlighten readers to the real threats of totalitarian Communist regimes and help put in context the Korean and Vietnam wars. Even if only 1/10th of what she claims in the book were true, Mao ranks at the top of the most brutal and sadistic leaders of all time.