Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine, 1958-1962
- Downloads：2660
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-07-24 06:57:41
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Yang Jisheng
- ISBN：0374533997
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
The much-anticipated definitive account of China's Great Famine
An estimated thirty-six million Chinese men， women， and children starved to death during China's Great Leap Forward in the late 1950s and early '60s。 One of the greatest tragedies of the twentieth century， the famine is poorly understood， and in China is still euphemistically referred to as "the three years of natural disaster。"
As a journalist with privileged access to official and unofficial sources， Yang Jisheng spent twenty years piecing together the events that led to mass nationwide starvation， including the death of his own father。 Finding no natural causes， Yang attributes responsibility for the deaths to China's totalitarian system and the refusal of officials at every level to value human life over ideology and self-interest。
Tombstone is a testament to inhumanity and occasional heroism that pits collective memory against the historical amnesia imposed by those in power。 Stunning in scale and arresting in its detailed account of the staggering human cost of this tragedy， Tombstone is written both as a memorial to the lives lost—an enduring tombstone in memory of the dead—and in hopeful anticipation of the final demise of the totalitarian system。 Ian Johnson， writing in The New York Review of Books， called the Chinese edition of Tombstone "groundbreaking 。 。 。 One of the most important books to come out of China in recent years。"
An estimated thirty-six million Chinese men， women， and children starved to death during China's Great Leap Forward in the late 1950s and early '60s。 One of the greatest tragedies of the twentieth century， the famine is poorly understood， and in China is still euphemistically referred to as "the three years of natural disaster。"
As a journalist with privileged access to official and unofficial sources， Yang Jisheng spent twenty years piecing together the events that led to mass nationwide starvation， including the death of his own father。 Finding no natural causes， Yang attributes responsibility for the deaths to China's totalitarian system and the refusal of officials at every level to value human life over ideology and self-interest。
Tombstone is a testament to inhumanity and occasional heroism that pits collective memory against the historical amnesia imposed by those in power。 Stunning in scale and arresting in its detailed account of the staggering human cost of this tragedy， Tombstone is written both as a memorial to the lives lost—an enduring tombstone in memory of the dead—and in hopeful anticipation of the final demise of the totalitarian system。 Ian Johnson， writing in The New York Review of Books， called the Chinese edition of Tombstone "groundbreaking 。 。 。 One of the most important books to come out of China in recent years。"
Reviews
Andrew Humphrey
，
What a frustrating read！ For an entire political party， indeed the complete leadership structure of the PRC， to behave so selfishly and brutally is unthinkable。 Tombstone is a dazzlingly detailed account of the population loss （unnatural deaths and birth shortfall） of 76 million people。 That number defies understanding， but Yang grounds it in reality with firsthand stories of the farmers and workers who paid the ultimate price for Mao’s hubris and savagery。 Beyond the human suffering of starvati What a frustrating read！ For an entire political party， indeed the complete leadership structure of the PRC， to behave so selfishly and brutally is unthinkable。 Tombstone is a dazzlingly detailed account of the population loss （unnatural deaths and birth shortfall） of 76 million people。 That number defies understanding， but Yang grounds it in reality with firsthand stories of the farmers and workers who paid the ultimate price for Mao’s hubris and savagery。 Beyond the human suffering of starvation， torture， and cannibalism， I was struck by the astounding stupidity， cruelty， and cowardice of nearly every CCP cadre and leader: “To see the masses dying， yet keep the grain locked in storerooms and refuse to distribute it; to watch the communal kitchens close down and yet not allow the masses to light stoves in their own homes; to refuse to let the masses harvest wild herbs or flee the famine; to deny canes to those crippled with starvation; to treat people worse than oxen or horses， arbitrarily beating and even killing them， lacking even a shred of human feeling - if these were not the enemy ， what were they？” I can’t imagine a more complete historical record of these horrible years。 。。。more
Nancy Warenda
，
Those who don't know history are bound to repeat it。 The one criticism that I have is the definitions of right divination， criticism， and struggle are not defined。also a few other terms。 One can gusss at the meanings but a glossary of these Chinese communist terms would have been helpful。 I also googled these terms and was unable to find definitions。 Those who don't know history are bound to repeat it。 The one criticism that I have is the definitions of right divination， criticism， and struggle are not defined。also a few other terms。 One can gusss at the meanings but a glossary of these Chinese communist terms would have been helpful。 I also googled these terms and was unable to find definitions。 。。。more
Patrick
，
A searing indictment of the Chinese Communist Party。 How many people died during the Chinese Famine？ Figures vary， but one can be sure that it ran in the tens of millions， staggering numbers to be sure。Just in case anyone thinks that things are better with the regime today， they are wrong。 China's so-called "reforms" were limited to the economy。 The latest arrests in Hong Kong of democracy advocates show the insecurity the Chinese dictators feel on their hold on power。 A searing indictment of the Chinese Communist Party。 How many people died during the Chinese Famine？ Figures vary， but one can be sure that it ran in the tens of millions， staggering numbers to be sure。Just in case anyone thinks that things are better with the regime today， they are wrong。 China's so-called "reforms" were limited to the economy。 The latest arrests in Hong Kong of democracy advocates show the insecurity the Chinese dictators feel on their hold on power。 。。。more
Caitlin Warwood
，
The other reviews cover this book off pretty well。 I picked this up after reading the little red book， as I wanted something a bit more historical in contrast to the propaganda pushed by CCP themselves。This is an intense read， it had me tearing up in some chapters。 How this could be carried out not only in secret from the rest of the world but from the Chinese living through it at the time is horrifying。 In general， the book is dense but achievable for anyone with a strong stomach。 The only chap The other reviews cover this book off pretty well。 I picked this up after reading the little red book， as I wanted something a bit more historical in contrast to the propaganda pushed by CCP themselves。This is an intense read， it had me tearing up in some chapters。 How this could be carried out not only in secret from the rest of the world but from the Chinese living through it at the time is horrifying。 In general， the book is dense but achievable for anyone with a strong stomach。 The only chapter that was sort of lost on me was population loss - I am not so great with tables and stats。 Buy even then the general point of how immense this crisis was not lost on me。 The rest is pretty straight forward as it is narrative style and really paints a detailed grim picture of a nation's drive to survive。In short， I could not stop telling everyone I could that I was reading this book。 This is an important read for everyone。 。。。more
Charlie Yep
，
oh my deary goodness me this is amazing， not the famine， but the sheer depth of research got me super interested in average rainfall and relative resource deficiency and disastrous economic planning THIS IS CLASS
Amanda
，
This was hard to read。。。。 but people need to be made aware of this history
IJ
，
Thought I was looking at hell， could it ever be earth。 "There is a fallen kingdom and a fallen world。 What is the difference between a fallen state and a fallen world？ I say: to change one's surname and one's name is called the death of a nation; to be filled with benevolence and righteousness， but to the extent that the rate of animals eats people and people will eat each other is called the death of the world。" -- Gu Yanwu // Standing at the centre of the Temple of Heaven， all one can hear is Thought I was looking at hell， could it ever be earth。 "There is a fallen kingdom and a fallen world。 What is the difference between a fallen state and a fallen world？ I say: to change one's surname and one's name is called the death of a nation; to be filled with benevolence and righteousness， but to the extent that the rate of animals eats people and people will eat each other is called the death of the world。" -- Gu Yanwu // Standing at the centre of the Temple of Heaven， all one can hear is the echo of one's own voice。 Pomposity is， in fact， a pandering and exaggeration of the will of the upper echelons。 When telling lies is encouraged and telling the truth is discouraged， pomposity becomes the ethos。 The conflict between accountability to the top and accountability to the bottom; the people and the grassroots being crushed back and forth; the difference in weight between different regions; all sorts of dilemmas that deserve deeper investigation。 There are too many other things that should be discussed and clarified as much as possible。 。。。more
Jen Well-Steered
，
Here is where we run into the problem of a star rating system， because this book is about a completely preventable famine in which untold millions of people died。 I'll go no further in Godwin-ing this review。Anyway， if the topic is not your cup of tea， so be it。 It's depressing and it really happened and it was 60 years ago， so some of the victims and perpetrators are still alive and have presumably been living in the same places this entire time and not talking about it， because of course the C Here is where we run into the problem of a star rating system， because this book is about a completely preventable famine in which untold millions of people died。 I'll go no further in Godwin-ing this review。Anyway， if the topic is not your cup of tea， so be it。 It's depressing and it really happened and it was 60 years ago， so some of the victims and perpetrators are still alive and have presumably been living in the same places this entire time and not talking about it， because of course the Communist Party is still in charge and doesn't go in for things like Truth and Reconciliation commissions。I picked it up because I like reading about topics I don't know much about， and the history of Communist China is one of those topics。 It goes into a lot of detail about yearly grain yields and internal Communist Party meetings which I couldn't follow。 What was more interesting to me was the sociology and psychology: millions of people starved to death for 3 years running， and plenty of others knew about it and did it again the next year。 The author goes somewhat into the whys， but of course with the Communist Party still in charge， that's quite difficult。 But this is an important topic for humanity: we let perfectly preventable deaths happen on a mass scale all the time and we sometimes learn from them， but not enough。 。。。more
Amy
，
Learned a lot about a famine and period of time my parents went through。
Fred
，
很久以前讀的，人禍而非天災，人相食的歷史。
Chris
，
This should be required reading for every American
Alan Tsuei
，
上冊重點：接續著大躍進而來的就是勞動力都被拉去搞水利，所以農業人口嚴重不足，再加上放衛星到了新高點，高報的糧產讓收割後的農產品都被上繳，自然大饑荒正式來到，作者一省一省的記載58-61年的慘狀，不僅農村沒糧，連城市也都左右支絀才會造成這樣的慘劇下冊重點：前新華社記者對於1958-1961大飢荒的考察，如果以國家統計局的數字，1958-1962年的非正常死亡人數為1620萬，少出生人口為3150萬；如果以中國人口一書來算，非正常死亡人數為2098萬，少出生人口為3220萬；國外學者計算的平均非正常死亡人數為2773萬，少出生人口為3128。6萬；中國學者蔣正華的非正常死亡人數為1700萬；中國學者丁抒的非正常死亡人數為4400萬；中國學者金輝的非正常死亡人數為3471萬；中國學者陳一咨的非正常死亡人數為4300萬；中國學者曹樹基的非正常死亡人數為3246萬；中國學者王維志的非正常死亡人數為3547萬；而作者做出的結論為非正常死亡人數為3600萬，少出生人口為4000萬
Dana Sweeney
，
“Tombstone” is a mammoth， granular ledger of the Great Chinese Famine （1958-1962）， memorializing the catastrophe in a level of detail that is frankly astonishing。 I was deeply moved by Yang’s conception of this project， which he outlines in the introduction。 The book is literally a tombstone。 In the face of the Chinese government’s various distortions and erasures of the history of the Great Leap Forward and the resulting Great Famine， Yang erects this book — this tombstone — so that the estimat “Tombstone” is a mammoth， granular ledger of the Great Chinese Famine （1958-1962）， memorializing the catastrophe in a level of detail that is frankly astonishing。 I was deeply moved by Yang’s conception of this project， which he outlines in the introduction。 The book is literally a tombstone。 In the face of the Chinese government’s various distortions and erasures of the history of the Great Leap Forward and the resulting Great Famine， Yang erects this book — this tombstone — so that the estimated 36 million victims may be remembered。 His project is to document the Great Famine with such immense， exacting detail that it cannot ever again be disputed or forgotten。 For Yang， the project is personal: in 1959， he watched his own father starve to death。 He writes mainly for an audience of a future time to ensure that they will know what happened。 The result is a towering achievement that does honor to Yang’s purpose。 As a dissident writer who continues to live in China， Yang risks a great deal by writing such an excoriating account。 On to substance: the book is exhausting。 The significantly abridged English translation pushes 700 pages， compared to the original Mandarin edition published in Hong Kong that exceeds 1200 pages。 On every page， suffering。 Some of the suffering documented by Yang is so extreme that I had to put the book down for days at a time。 Detailed firsthand accounts of cannibalism， infanticide， starvation， suicide， torture。 You pick up a 700 page book about a famine and expect it to be dark， but nothing quite prepares you for what you encounter inside。 It is unrelenting。 The book makes a thorough and compelling case for policy failures of the Great Leap Forward driving the famine。 From impossible production quotas to mandated uniform planting standards that made no sense， from diversion of agricultural workers to massive industrial projects to communal kitchens and grain requisitions， Yang shows how at every turn the central government caused and then exacerbated famine conditions。 Underlaying everything is a fanatical， paranoid atmosphere that led many officials to forge agricultural yield numbers and deny reality so as not to be denounced as a counter revolutionary or face reprisals as a “right deviationist。” Many who tried to speak out about or intervene in the famine are shown to have been punished as enemies of the state trying to subvert Mao’s revolution。 The detail and explanatory power of Yang’s account on this front is impressive， and devastating。 Beyond its extraordinary length， though， there were other areas that gave me pause。 Yang’s reporting is generally a very stoic rundown of the facts， but occasionally， flashes of sudden spurious editorial or conspicuous gloss raised my eyebrows。 For one small example among many such small examples: in emphasizing that the Great Famine was different in nature than famines in China that preceded it， Yang writes that the largest previous famine in China “only” killed 10 million people。 The airy “only” in that sentence is doing a lot of work: for scale， the famous Irish Potato Famine of 1845-1852 killed an estimated 1 million people; the 1932-1933 Holodomor in Soviet Ukraine killed about 3。5 million。 Perhaps those famines resulted in larger death tolls in proportion to their respective national populations， but certain moments like that “only” 10 million line sometimes made me wary of how willing Yang may be to bend information in suit of his argument about Mao’s policy failures being central to the famine。 Another example would be Yang’s brief， from-the-hip claim that Mao bears responsibility for establishing Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and what came after。 The claim reads as underdeveloped and tenuous， and yet again aimed at maximizing the amount of fault that can be placed upon Mao。 I’m not sure that this is necessarily an incorrect assessment: it is simply that the sometimes presentation of such editorial and gloss material throughout the text unsettled me， and made room to wonder about the work’s overall objectivity。 This discomfort is accentuated by multiple favorable references to libertarian thinkers like Hayek throughout the book， and repeated （seemingly） clumsy conflations of Marxism， Maoism， totalitarianism， and communism， which read as though used interchangeably in the text。 All of which is a shame， because the most important parts of the text （in my view） read as straight reporting。 In this way， the vast bulk of the text is cast into the shadow of a very small part。 As is true for any work of translation， I should add the caveat that — being unable to read “Tombstone” in the original Mandarin — I cannot judge where responsibility for the book’s flaws lay between the author and the team of translators。 That’s certainly a gap in my perspective as a reader here。 But let that not be read as a diss of the translation team， which on the whole seems to have done a remarkable job at translating this gargantuan tome。 While heavy and sometimes dry， the translation is highly readable， and it is an invaluable public service to have carried this important record into reach of English-reading audiences around the world。 On the whole， I am very grateful that I read this book — and that Yang dedicated decades of his life to gathering the primary sources needed to write it。 It is a book worthy of his intention; it is indeed a tombstone， a memorial。 It’s a remarkable， courageous feat of research and writing。 I would not at all recommend this book to someone with casual interest given the length， density， and weight， but I recommend it enthusiastically to anyone who wants to delve deeply into the history of the Great Leap Forward and the Great Chinese Famine。 I will think about this book for a long time， and I look forward to （eventually） reading Yang’s companion history of the Cultural Revolution， “The World Turned Upside Down。” 。。。more
Christine B。
，
Oof。
Calvin Kwan
，
比較多數字，作為數據參加不錯，作為了解事件的話，沒法睇完所有數字
Zulu Fox
，
Absolutely phenomenal。 This is， by far， the most definitive account available in English on the famine and related disasters which occurred as a result of the Great Leap Forward （GLF）。 In every sense， Tombstone is heavy reading。 To begin with， it's fairly long and dense。 At over 600 pages including the footnotes and bibliography， this is something like only 2/3 of the original， but I think the translators and editors did a great job cutting out some chapters on various provinces and re-arranging Absolutely phenomenal。 This is， by far， the most definitive account available in English on the famine and related disasters which occurred as a result of the Great Leap Forward （GLF）。 In every sense， Tombstone is heavy reading。 To begin with， it's fairly long and dense。 At over 600 pages including the footnotes and bibliography， this is something like only 2/3 of the original， but I think the translators and editors did a great job cutting out some chapters on various provinces and re-arranging the structure of the remaining ones to alternate between profiles of particular provinces and breakdowns of various aspects of the GLF。 Second， as one might expect， Tombstone is emotionally devastating。 From the author's personal history， to the particular accounts of starvation， to the grand sweep of the famine and the sheer pointlessness of it all: it's hard not to grow numb to the devastation as it's narrated again and again in different locations。 The fact that Yang is clearly a knowledgeable and sympathetic student of modern PRC history （and an insider who knows what he's talking about） somehow makes this account detonate with more force than it would have were it delivered in more rhetorical style。 Yang comes off as an earnest investigator trying to get the story right。 And it shows。 I find some aggrieved former Maoists and scholars with an axe to grind come off as being shrill and vindictive to the point that they overstate their case。 Heartfelt and motivated though this book is， that is not the case here。A word on sources and methodology。 One thing I loved about Tombstone， and what makes it so authoritative， is that the author has such a clear and compelling answer to the question of "what new contribution to knowledge does the project make？" Yang was a former senior Xinhua journalist。 In that capacity， he was able to gain access to scores of archives and literally thousands of documents that were， and are， unavailable to general scholars and foreign researchers。 He also naturally had a fairly extensive web of contacts in various organs of the state whom he could query。 Yang claims to have discreetly worked on accumulating primary sources and compiling Tombstone over more than a decade。 It shows。 I would say over 80% of what's here is directly from primary sources or conversations with relevant actors。 Most of the rest is from Chinese-language memoirs， usually written by authors with whom Yang has conversed。 Aside from being a gripping narrative， this book also basically serves as an excellent reference material， complete with all the statistical tables and figures a student of this subject could want。One minor disappointment， though， was the lack of attention paid to the ideological origins of the GLF， the GLF in urban areas， and any successful projects of the GLF。 In fairness， Yang set out to document the famine of 1958-1962 and not the GLF per se。 Still though， it would have been nice to gain a slightly more fulsome account of the GLF beyond its chronology and how it resulted in the tragedies that it did。 On balance， a phenomenal work。 Not light reading， but if you wanted to read only one book on the GLF， this should be it。 。。。more
Eileen Seitz
，
I am ashamed to admit I knew very little about China's Great Leap Forward under Mao and the consequences to the Chinese people/peasants during the period between 1958-1962。 Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine， 1958-1962 introduced me to the CCP's policies which brought about the worst man-made famine in history。 The author， Yang Jisheng describes the impact of the Great Leap Forward and the disaster and hardships inflicted on the Chinese people between 1958-1962。 Yang depicts the negative result I am ashamed to admit I knew very little about China's Great Leap Forward under Mao and the consequences to the Chinese people/peasants during the period between 1958-1962。 Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine， 1958-1962 introduced me to the CCP's policies which brought about the worst man-made famine in history。 The author， Yang Jisheng describes the impact of the Great Leap Forward and the disaster and hardships inflicted on the Chinese people between 1958-1962。 Yang depicts the negative result of concentrated， central power under Mao Zedong and how it produced a system of "a slave facing upward and a dictator facing downward" conundrum。 Unfortunately， the rural peasants were at the bottom of this ladder rung and suffered unspeakable hardships as a result。Tombstone covers the Anti-Rightest Campaign， the Three Red Banners of the Communist Party （the General Line ideology for socialist construction of "go all out， aim high， and build socialism with greater， faster， better， and more economical results"）， the Great Leap Forward （the embodiment of the General Line ideal）， and the people's communes and communal kitchens。 Tombstone's primary focus was on the Great Famine which led to millions of starvation deaths and reduced birthrates due to malnutrition and its symptoms， gruesome survival tactics employed by starving peasants， and the brutality they endured。It was interesting to learn about Mao's "colleagues" who questioned him regarding the famine， and Mao's reaction to the suggestions from Zhou Enlai， Zhou Xiaozhou， Peng Dehuai and others during the Lushan Conference。 which extended the famine for an additional 3 or 4 years， （primarily because Mao did not take criticism well and didn't want to lose power）。 The point made clear was that the famine developed as a result of exaggerated reports of crop yields and unrealistic and unreasonable requisition targets which resulted in failure to meet procurement targets。 This lead to endema， malnutrition， starvation， and death among the peasant population。 Additionally， during the famine， birth rates dropped significantly due to the malnutrition factor。 Total population loss was in the neighborhood of roughly 60 million （unnatural deaths and fall in birthrates）。 The government did its upmost to cover up the death figures。 As a result the figures stated are considered to be underestimated。 The books information and accounts actually come from survivors and local journalists who witnessed the murders and starvation， and somehow survived the famine。 Interestingly， Tombstone is banned in China。 I highly recommend Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine， 1958-1962 to anyone interested in this desperate period in Chinese history - informative and well worth the read。 It's a page turner。 。。。more
Liam
，
"'Outside it was said that the dogs had eaten so many corpses that their eyes glowed with bloodlust。 But this was inconsistent with the facts: people had already eaten all the dogs， so where would there be dogs to eat the corpses？'" （quoting Yu Dehong， secretary to Xinyang party commissioner， 40）"Mao summed up the process [The Exaggeration Wind] at an enlarged meeting of the Politburo on March 5， 1961: 'We always demanded statistics on how much of what had been planted， how much was produced， ho "'Outside it was said that the dogs had eaten so many corpses that their eyes glowed with bloodlust。 But this was inconsistent with the facts: people had already eaten all the dogs， so where would there be dogs to eat the corpses？'" （quoting Yu Dehong， secretary to Xinyang party commissioner， 40）"Mao summed up the process [The Exaggeration Wind] at an enlarged meeting of the Politburo on March 5， 1961: 'We always demanded statistics on how much of what had been planted， how much was produced， how much fertilizer had been spread today， what would be done tomorrow。 With all that reporting and calculating， it was impossible for statistics to keep up。 That's how things go: you issue chaotic directives and I give a nonsense report， and the result is exaggeration that makes no sense at all。'" （258）"China's earlier emperors had been able to say， like France's Louis XIV， 'L'etat， c'est moi' -- 'I am the state。' But Mao could go further and say， 'I am society。' The leading organs at every level were subject to Mao， but within their own jurisdictions， their power was as all-encompassing as Mao's， so that each was a local despot。 Each official wore two faces: before his superiors he was a slave， and before his subordinates， a tyrant。" （486） 。。。more
Sean Donnelly
，
Still reading。 I often try to take my time with this supremely depressing sh*t。Th sheer numbers alone are mind boggling。 40 plus million Chinese Peasants （mostly rice farmers）Literally annihilated by deliberate Stalinist style starvation， the Direct and predictable result of ridiculous forced collectivism。The CCP Purges killed more people than the entire war with Japan。
JM
，
I cannot imagine a more authoritative account of the horrors/insanity that led to， perpetuated， and justified the results of the Great Leap Forward。 That said， did not finish because it is very long and depressing。 If you want to know about the Great Leap Forward from the Chinese perspective， this is your book。
Herrholz Paul
，
I found this book quite heavy going。 It is quite long and relentlessly dark。 But in some ways there is no other way to go about conveying the tragedy which befell China at this time。 Some of the reports are simply jaw dropping - revealing some of the extreme lengths to which humans will go to survive at any level of society。 From this point of view alone the book is enlightening and the fact that this happened relatively recently only adds to the shock。 So at the risk of repeating hackneyed expr I found this book quite heavy going。 It is quite long and relentlessly dark。 But in some ways there is no other way to go about conveying the tragedy which befell China at this time。 Some of the reports are simply jaw dropping - revealing some of the extreme lengths to which humans will go to survive at any level of society。 From this point of view alone the book is enlightening and the fact that this happened relatively recently only adds to the shock。 So at the risk of repeating hackneyed expressions - this book is necessary reading。 Therefore four stars。 。。。more
Rick Stone
，
More of a book of facts rather than a flowing storyline。
Isabelle reads a book a day because she has no friends
，
This is one of “those” books—where I start with the audiobook and order the physical copy before I’m even halfway through。 Because it’s so powerful that I need to have it as a reference…and I need to share it with everyone who wants to hear （still trying to get my dad to read this one）。 I waited so long to write my review of this because it honestly impacted me in such a huge way。 I am still thinking about it months later because of how devastating and real this narrative is。 This enormous part This is one of “those” books—where I start with the audiobook and order the physical copy before I’m even halfway through。 Because it’s so powerful that I need to have it as a reference…and I need to share it with everyone who wants to hear （still trying to get my dad to read this one）。 I waited so long to write my review of this because it honestly impacted me in such a huge way。 I am still thinking about it months later because of how devastating and real this narrative is。 This enormous part of history where millions needlessly died was never taught to me in my American school （and is it taught in China？ Yeah right）。 I will recommend this book as required reading for everybody， and I mean everybody。 Soak it up， feel all the pain and anguish and devastation， because this is not an event that should be forgotten。 。。。more
Varsha Bang
，
Banned in mainland China， Tombstone informs the readers about the horrific man-made famine of 1958-1962 which to this day is estimated to have caused deaths of 36-45 million people。 Exaggerated grain production， lack of accountability， high procurement quotas， communal kitchens and collectivization of farm lands without proper compensation led to the greatest man made disaster of 20th century。 The book throws light on the disastrous policies of the Mao Zedong govt that led to the cannibalism per Banned in mainland China， Tombstone informs the readers about the horrific man-made famine of 1958-1962 which to this day is estimated to have caused deaths of 36-45 million people。 Exaggerated grain production， lack of accountability， high procurement quotas， communal kitchens and collectivization of farm lands without proper compensation led to the greatest man made disaster of 20th century。 The book throws light on the disastrous policies of the Mao Zedong govt that led to the cannibalism permanently memorialized in the country's history。 。。。more
Colby
，
A revelatory masterpiece。 Historically defining。
Jenny
，
Need to pause bc the truth is too gruesome and appalling。
Gillian Thomson
，
Although I have not finished this book and intend to dip in and out of it， it's interesting but there are far too many statistics。 Although I have not finished this book and intend to dip in and out of it， it's interesting but there are far too many statistics。 。。。more
John Fullerton
，
An extraordinary book - a masterpiece of painstaking， detailed investigation that reveals the true horror of Communist China's 1958-1962 Great Famine in which an estimated 36 million people starved to death - a death toll higher than the First World War and revealing， among other things， that the Chinese killed more fellow Chinese than even the Japanese military managed to murder in their invasion and occupation。 There were also countless small but widespread rebellions across China against tyra An extraordinary book - a masterpiece of painstaking， detailed investigation that reveals the true horror of Communist China's 1958-1962 Great Famine in which an estimated 36 million people starved to death - a death toll higher than the First World War and revealing， among other things， that the Chinese killed more fellow Chinese than even the Japanese military managed to murder in their invasion and occupation。 There were also countless small but widespread rebellions across China against tyranny - quickly and violently suppressed because of a lack of weapons， funds and organisation。 Labelled 'counter-revolutionary'， these uprisings were in fact impoverished people with empty bellies in a last desperate bid to relieve their appalling and quite unnecessary suffering。While their neighbours - old， young， even children - starved to death， their bodies littering the roadside and fields， the bark having been stripped from the trees and the grass ripped up in a desperate attempt to eat， Party cadres continued to live - and eat - well right next door。The Great Famine is still a taboo subject in mainland China today。 This book is still banned。 Many millions of young mainland Chinese simply have no idea。 Remarkably， the author is an optimist。 He believes change - democratic change - will eventually replace the 'perfect pyramid' of authoritarianism， though he concedes it may take a very long time。Not an easy read - a very painful one because few will be able to avoid imagining themselves and their loved ones in such peril， but essential for any reader trying to grasp the true nature of contemporary China。 。。。more
john
，
Very detailed account of the great famine。This is for anyone interested in 20th century China。 It's a very detailed account of one of many tragedies in China。 The causes and effects of the great famine are explained and backed up with data and stories。 Can't go wrong。 Very detailed account of the great famine。This is for anyone interested in 20th century China。 It's a very detailed account of one of many tragedies in China。 The causes and effects of the great famine are explained and backed up with data and stories。 Can't go wrong。 。。。more
Leib Mitchell
，