"A fine, sharp study of this tumultuous, elusive era . . . [An] excellent follow-up to his groundbreaking previous work . . . Dikötter tells a harrowing tale of unbelievable suffering. A potent combination of precise history and moving examples." - starred review, Kirkus Reviews
"If [
The Cultural Revolution] were widely circulated in China, it could undermine the legitimacy of the current regime . . . This book is a significant event in our understanding of modern China." -
New York Times Book Review "Richly documented . . . Dikötter paints a chilling picture." -
Publishers Weekly "For those who have swallowed the poisonous claim that the Communist Party deserves some credit for China's current patchy prosperity, Mr. Dikötter provides the antidote." -
Wall Street Journal "Dikötter's well-researched and readable new book on the Cultural Revolution's causes and consequences is a crucial reminder of the tragedies, miscalculations and human costs of Mao's last experiment." -
The Guardian "A fascinating account of how people twisted or resisted the aims of Mao's movement ****" -
Daily Telegraph "The murderous frenzy of the times, which tore apart friends and families, not to speak of the Communist party itself, is powerfully conveyed." - Book of the Week,
The Times "Definitive and harrowing." - Book of the Week,
Daily Mail "The final book of his magnificent historical trilogy . . . [Dikötter] has mastered the details so well that with the most sparing use of description he weaves a vivid tapestry of China at the time . . . This brilliant book leaves no doubt that Mao almost ruined China and left a legacy of paranoia that still grips its modern dictatorship under the latest autocrat, Xi Jinping." -
Sunday Times "Like Dikötter's two previous books . . .
The Cultural Revolution exposes, in measured prose and well-documented analysis, the impact of communist rule in a period of extraordinary stress . . . Together, these three books, which Dikötter calls the 'People's Trilogy', constitute a major contribution to scholarship on modern China, one that is unequalled, certainly in the English language." -
Literary Review "Gripping, horrific . . . A significant event in our understanding of modern China." -
International New York Times "Fluent, compelling and based on a wide range of evidence." -
Financial Times
