Mao's Little Red Book

Mao Zedong's Little Red Book (Quotations from Chairman Mao) - a compilation of the Chinese leader's speeches and writings - is one of the most visible and ubiquitous symbols of twentieth-century radicalism. Published for the first time in 1964, it rapidly became the must-have accessory for Red Guards and revolutionaries from Berkeley to Bamako. Yet, despite its worldwide circulation and enduring presence there has, until now, been no serious scholarly effort to understand this seminal text as a global historical phenomenon. Mao's Little Red Book brings together a range of innovative scholars from around the world to explore the fascinating variety of uses and forms that Mao's Quotations has taken, from rhetoric, art and song, to talisman, badge, and weapon. The authors of this pioneering volume use Mao's Quotations as a medium through which to re-examine the history of the twentieth-century world, challenging established ideas about the book to reveal its remarkable global impact.

“"Published on the fiftieth anniversary of the earliest printing of Mao's Little Red Book, Cook's edited volume explores the local and global impacts and gripping narratives of the pocket-size text. ... a trove of fascinating articles by leading scholars of several fields. ... A collection of interesting and well-researched articles on an understudied topic, this edited volume is an exemplary transnational and multidisciplinary project. It should be of interest to readers from diverse backgrounds. Summing up: highly recommended." P. B. Guingona, Choice”

'Alex Cook's collection of essays on Quotations from Chairman Mao explains this global phenomenon of the 1960s and uses it as a window to explore wider issues, from Chinese politics and society, to traveling theory across Asia, Africa and Europe, to popular appropriation of state ideologies. Contributions by specialists in Mao's works, history, international politics, literary theory, and music reveal the astonishing power of Mao's writings and what that tells us about ourselves.' Timothy Cheek, University of British Columbia
'If transnational history is the thing these days, this strong collection of essays on the worldly travels of and local interpretive possibilities opened by Mao's Little Red Book in the 1960s and beyond, is a model of its kind. Topically coherent, strongly analytical, and surprisingly broad in its coverage, this anthology will undoubtedly become a great companion for classroom use and scholarly reference. A good read; a great book!' Rebecca E. Karl, New York University
'The most printed book in its time, Quotations from Chairman Mao is an ideal case study for a global intellectual history. Showing how its message travelled the world like a laser refracted into a thousand colours, Alexander Cook and his contributors have offered up a delightful and provocative pattern no one scholar could have assembled. Their chapters make up an exciting new picture of the global 1960s and their aftermath - and of the political upheaval that a text's readings can both reflect and abet.' Samuel Moyn, James Bryce Professor, Columbia University, and author of The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History (2010)
'Its earliest editions may have been blue and green, we now learn, but it is as the Little Red Book that the Quotations from Chairman Mao became known the world over. Half a century ago, its pithy slogans energized and guided restless revolutionaries in places as far apart as Oakland, Dar es Salam, Paris and Ayacucho. In this groundbreaking critical history, the authors weave sympathetic understanding and perceptive analyses into a fascinating account of the book and its global influence.' Michael Schoenhals, Lund University, editor of China's Cultural Revolution, 1966–1969: Not a Dinner Party (1996) and co-author of Mao's Last Revolution (2006)
'This compilation of fifteen essays, each by a different author, on the impact of the book worldwide marks a fascinating attempt to understand why it reached such a wide audience …' Ben Chacko, Morning Star
'… contains much that is of interest … illuminating.' New Statesman
'Published on the fiftieth anniversary of the earliest printing of Mao's Little Red Book, Cook's edited volume explores the local and global impacts and gripping narratives of the pocket-size text. … a trove of fascinating articles by leading scholars of several fields. … A collection of interesting and well-researched articles on an understudied topic, this edited volume is an exemplary transnational and multidisciplinary project. It should be of interest to readers from diverse backgrounds. Summing up: highly recommended.' P. B. Guingona, Choice

Alexander C. Cook is Assistant Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley, where he teaches modern Chinese history. His research examines Maoism in its domestic and global contexts. His publications include the chapter on 'Third World Maoism' in A Critical Introduction to Mao (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and a forthcoming book on the Gang of Four trial in China.

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