Born Red: A Chronicle of the Cultural Revolution by Gao Yuan, Gao Yuan, William A. Joseph (Designed by)

From the Publisher

“In Born Red, Gao Youan, a former Red Guard . . . tells us what it was like to be one of Mao’s children in a provincial town four hours by train south of Peking. It is a terrible story, demonstrating that Mao and his crazed coterie were able to cripplee Chinese society for ten years, as well as cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, because they had plenty of help from the masses.”—Politics
“Gao’s moving account, which is surprisingly even-handed, viividly captures the pervasive sense of fear and uncertainty that washed over China during the tumultuous period from 1966-1969.”—Houston Chronicle

Library Journal

An autobiographical account of a young man from a provincial town in North China who became caught up in the excitement and struggles of the Cultural Revolution (1966-69). As a teenager boarding at the top local high school, Gao found himself pulled in opposite directions: At school he exerted every effort to bring about the revolution by challenging authority, while at home his father, the highest official in the county, was a target. Gao tells his story well; it rings true with details of family life, stories of Red Guard treks around China, etc. The book, however, differs only in Gao's personal circumstances from many similar accounts, including Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro's Son of the Revolution ( LJ 2/15/83), and Yue Daiyun and Carolyn Wakeman's To the Storm ( LJ 11/1/85). A fine account, but not an essential purchase. David D. Buck, History Dept., Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

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