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SCMP Reporter

The Long March: The True Story Behind the Legendary Journey that Made Mao's China (2006)

by Ed Jocelyn and Andrew McEwen

Constable and  Robinson, $135

In 2002, Jocelyn and McEwen set out to trace the Red Army's footsteps, undertaking the gruelling 12,400km trek in 384 days and along the way recording the experiences of the  last remaining witnesses to the  Long March. Their conclusion? Although the Long March did  indeed take place, there was a  good deal of embellishment as Mao spun it into a propaganda tool during his rise to power.

Mao: The Unknown  Story  (2005)

by Jung Chang  and Jon Halliday

Vintage, $225

In their controversial biography of Mao Zedong, Wild Swans author Chang and her husband, historian Halliday, describe the Long March as: 'The most enduring myth in modern Chinese history, and one of the biggest myths of the 20th century.' The nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek, they say, left the route open for the Red Army, which met only token resistance - and Mao was carried on  a litter most of the way.

Women of the  Long March   (1999)

by Lily Xiao Hong Lee and Sue Wiles

Allen & Unwin, $195

Thirty women walked with the elite leaders and a women's army of 3,000 soldiers on the Long March. Lee and Wiles offer the stories of three female comrades, including Mao's third wife, He Zizhen. They not only trekked beside the men but also got pregnant, gave birth and abandoned their babies along the way - all for the revolution.

Red Star Over  China   (1938)

by Edgar Snow

Grove Press, $129

The first western book  to report on Chinese communism and the Long March. Journalist Snow was given direct access to Mao, Zhou Enlai and others, with whom he conducted the lengthy interviews on which Red Star relies. His glowing account of the soldiers of the Red Army as reliable, good, brave lads who cheerfully fought their way across seemingly endless miles and Mao  as a hero of the Long March is further compromised by the fact he allowed his sources to review his stories.

The Long March  (1985)

by Harrison E. Salisbury

HarperCollins, $65

In 1984, the former New York  Times correspondent gained almost unprecedented permission to retrace  parts of the Long March and interview participants. The narrative is largely from the vantage of Long March military commanders and commissars - who, after 1949, became generals, and high-ranking officials. Of  Mao's part, The Times concluded: 'Ascertaining [his] true role in the March - if it can ever be discovered - awaits opening of the archives and  the careful sifting of still unpublished key memoirs.'



A LITANY OF SUFFERING