Essential works of Mao

[Ritzy Cat]

A few questions regarding Mao:

1. Of the " death toll " regarding the events that took place under Mao's leadership, which of those was he directly responsible for ?

2. What are some of Mao's works I need to read to best understand his thought ? I of course have the red book but nothing more.

[John Nada]

1. "Directly"? He couldn't control weather, crop yields or what the capitalist roaders or even his own faction to an extent. He wasn't absolute ruler. Other party members had influence too, and he didn't get his way a lot. If you mean died in the famine and cultural revolution(which was almost a civil war). IIRC, 20 million and 3 million respectively, according to some sources that aren't as anti-communist.

2. He was a Marxist-Leninist, so it helps to know what Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin wrote to understand Mao. Here's a few:
Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/AC26.html)
Report on the Investigation on the Peasant Movement in Hunan (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/HP27.html)
On Correcting Mistaken Ideas in the Party (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/CMI29.html)
A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/SS30.html)
Be Concerned for the Well-Being of the Masses, Pay Attention to Methods of Work (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/WMMW34.html)
On Tactics Against Japanese Imperialist (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/TAJI35.html)
Problems of Strategy in China's Revolutionary War (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/PSRW36.html)
Win the Masses in Their Millions for the Anti-Japanese Front (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/WTM37.html)
On Practice (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/OP37.html)
On Cotraditions (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/OC37.html)
Combat Liberalism (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/CL37.html)
Problems of Strategy in the Guerrilla War Against Japan (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/PSGW38.html)
On Protracted War (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/PW38.html)
The Chinese Revolution and the Communist Party (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/CRCCP39.html)
On the Correct Handling of the Contradictions among people (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/CHC57.html)
A Critique of Soviet Economics (http://marx2mao.com/Mao/CSE58.html[/url)

I recommend his stuff about guerrilla warfare. Even non-Maoists and bourgeois reactionaries admit he was brilliant in that field. His theories on protracted people's war are still influential to this day.

[Ritzy Cat]

Thank you for the response. I understand that there were many factors he can not be held accountable for--but as with all communists whose image suffers from the tainted perspective of western capitalism, it can be hard to tell what is legitimate and what is not !

I will investigate the sources you have provided; my knowledge of Mao remains quite limited despite my intense study of other revolutionaries.

Merci !