Books like China's Long March

I don't know whether I have a mild dislike or a raging hate for this book.In general, I love Jean Fritz's work - how she makes her subjects come to life, how she embodies them in her writing. However, I've always had a slight trouble with them: they portray her subjects in an overwhelmingly favourable light. For example, in \ You Want WOMEN to Vote Lizzie Stanton\ , she somewhat glorifies Stanton's lousy parenting. Here, she blatantly glorifies Mao Zedong, the tyrant, the Tyrannosaurus Rex. In her own words,Mao's reforms did change China. Poverty was reduced; property and wealth were redistributed; health was improved; education became widespread.And other things such as Communist governments having to be repressive and the Chinese expecting the government to be in control of everything down to their private lives. This? Bullcrap. If you consider the gap between rich and poor to be poverty, Mao did his job well. Everyone became poor and everyone starved in the Great Leap. Property and wealth redistributed? Check. Everyone getting little property and wealth. Health improved? If you consider millions dying of starvation and thus reducing the need for healthcare, then that's a yes. Education widespread? Yes, teenagers and children becoming Red Guards well-versed in Communist propaganda. Governments should never be repressive. Does successful reform mean abandoning all moral principles? Does it mean killing and mistreating everyone who doesn't agree with it? I also find Fritz's claim of the Chinese expecting the government to control everything to be ridiculous. Ugh. People spoke out against Mao, they cared about their privacy. On the other hand, Fritz does magnificently with her subjects. She makes them sympathetic and admirable. After reading this I could understand the zeal, passion, and vision the Red Army had that the Nationalists didn't. It's incredible how the leaders all the way down to the soldiers believed fervently in the ideologies of Communism. Many Nationalist soldiers didn't even know what they were fighting for. I can't help but admit that I admire the Communists for their drive. There is another bone I have to pick about this book, and that is Fritz's treatment of the Nationalists. One of my great-grandfathers fought in the Nationalist army, and that is probably the reason for my indignation. Fritz says that the Nationalists were typically loud and aggressive. Well, so were Communists! Fritz mentions the "hero talks" the generals in the Red Army gave to their regiments. Weren't they loud and aggressive? Look at the Red Guards of the Cultural Revolution. I see loud and aggressive.To clear up some things, I don't have a phobia of Communism. It's just that the leadership of Communist nations have failed to carry out economic harmony. Communists nations have persecuted their citizens and mistreated them, bearing no regard for human rights. Communism hasn't worked out. Based on this, I personally do not want to live in a country governed by Communism. It's not that this book isn't worth reading. It's that it's blatant glorification of Mao Zedong. Read it with discretion and a critical eye, and couple it with \ Red Scarf Girl\ to get a more well-rounded picture.