Zhisui Li (1919–1995)

To be sure, Mao Tse Tung was a bit of a prick. There, I've said it. The Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party he may have been but he was a queer duck, and his personal doctor Li Zhi-Sui was there to record Mao's many foibles.

We get an indepth look at Mao's health, his refusal to brush his tea, preferring to drink tea, his peccadilloes and the good doctor's waning faith in Mao. What sticks in my mind is Mao's constipation, so bad that the good doctor was forced to use his fingers to dig show more out hard stools. What made this so memorable though was the translator's phrase to describe using his fingers to dig out hard stools; "digital manipulation". Now, whenever I hear someone say "let's digitally manipulate that" I wince. show less

Rather than some "expert" who never met Chairman Mao, this book is written by his doctor. That doesn't mean that every word has to be taken as gospel, but Zhisui Li does make a believable picture of a dictator.

One of the wisest sayings is, "All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." and this book is the proof. I suspect that Mao started as a well meaning leader but, couldn't handle the adulation which, over time, turned to fear. He became a monster who viewed human life in numbers.

Who better to tell us this than Mao's personal doctor. From his eccentricities to his strangely effective ability to unite un-unitable people; it's all here and highly entertaining. Having read this book you will far better understand Mao, and likely be even more puzzled about how the country has changed as much as it has since his time, given his founding leadership.

Fascinating behind the scenes account by Mao's personal physician has the ring of truth to it. The amazing thing when reading about Mao is always how anyone as basically repulsive as he was could hold such a sway over people.