The title might have been written by Mao himself. In-stead, it was dictated by the revealing, intimate, never-before-published recollections of Li Yinqiao, Mao's body-guard, and brought to light by the author Quan Yanchi.

  After fifteen years of devoted service, Li received this request from Mao: "If what happens in my family is a secret to others, it is not a secret to you. But don't write about me while rm still alive; wait until I die, and write truthfully when you do." For the first time, the personal, inside story of China's dynamic leader and world statesman is told--the life and thought of Mao, the husband, father, comrade-in-arms, the peasant's son. The recollections, only now made public in English, provide the reader with a refreshingly different perspective from any of the many other works about Mao. Highlighting the book are photographs, pub-lished here for the first time.

Publisher's Note

Preface

How I Became Mao's Bodyguard

Mao Enjoys a Challenge

When the Bombers Came

Things That Upset Mao

Mao in Tears

Mao in a Temper

Snow, Money and Mao

Mao's Reaction to "Long Live Chairman Mao!"

Mao--the "Rustic"

Stewed Pork: Mao's Favourite Dish

What Plagues Mao

Mao Declares the Founding of New China

Mao's Life with Jiang Qing

Mao the Mediator

Mao's Treatment of Those Whom He Knew

Mao Bringing Up His Children

Mao's Sense of Humour

Mao: a Book Enthusiast

Mao Seeks Ways to Open Up China

What Mao Never Managed to Accomplish