Even a journey of 1,000 kilometers begins with one step. In this lecture, Dr. Ben Tolila describes the historical background to Mao's personality, his tumultuous life story, his sayings (which the Chinese people were required to study as part of the cult of Mao), and his activity as secretary of the largest Communist party in the world for 40 years.
Mao, who lived from 1893 to 1976, was a man who, in spite of his controversial personality, is still considered by Chinese citizens as the most significant leader of modern times, the man who unified them.
Dr. Yossi Ben Tolila is a graduate of the Department of Jewish History in Bar Ilan University, who lectures in various social contexts about historical personalities. In the lectures, he discusses the biographies of the people in light of their times, the circumstances that contributed to their appearance on the stage of history, their thought and activity, and the influence of all these on their generation and future generations. As we know, biographies are of assistance in the study of history, and shed light on the personal, social, and political factors that formed the basis of past events.
Please note: This recording is in Hebrew.
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"This book could have been a masterpiece had the authors been a bit more objective. Their main points would have been even more convincing with greater objectivity. This book is especially relevant given the recent discovery that the US military has patterned at least some of their interrogation methods at Guantanamo Bay on Chinese communist methods of the 1950's. Another parallel could be made to Mao's tactics against his opponents. If they didn't agree with him, he just branded them traitors. This is NOT the official political biography of Mao. The book shows many lessons on the importance of standing up to leaders with bullying, ego-maniacal or sociopathic tendencies. Mao had them all."
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Glenn (4 out of 5 stars)