Join co-hosts Anne Moore and Chris Stacey for an innovative, exciting, and passionate approach to world literature. We select a country and pick three books over the course of three months: one contemporary, one non-fiction, and one classic. Our current country is China & The Cultural Revolution. For our first meeting we discuss the non-fiction selection Mao Zedong: A Life by Jonathan Spence

From humble origins in the provinces, Mao Zedong rose to absolute power, unifying with an iron fist a vast country torn apart by years of weak leadership, colonialism, and war. This sharply drawn and insightful account brings to life this modern-day emperor and the tumultuous era that he did so much to shape. Jonathan Spence captures Mao in all his paradoxical grandeur and sheds light on the radical transformation he unleashed that still reverberates in China today.

We hope to see you in February to help us create a community you’ll find inviting, fun, engaging and a place to sustain meaningful friendships.

Date: Thursday, February 5, 2026

Time: 6:00PM Central

Location: Private room at a club on Michigan Avenue. Details after signing up.

Reviews

“The task of bringing Mao to a large, non-specialist audience is one for which Spence is eminently well-suited. His lucidly written, compellingly narrated explorations of modern Chinese history have attracted a readership unmatched by that of any other academic China specialist. His study of Mao is short . . . his writing tight, his judgments restrained.” —The Washington Post

“Jonathan Spence [is] an eloquent chronicler of Chinese history. . . . [A] brisk, elegant book. . . . Spence skillfully uses Mao’s letters and poems to explore the Chinese leader’s thinking and relationships.” —USA Today

“There is no better person to write a general, readable account of Mao than Spence, an acclaimed Chinese historian and author of several biographies.” —Library Journal (starred review)

Note: We selected Spence's biography of Mao for its brevity. A solid history of the Cultural Revolution is Mao’s Last Revolution by Roderick MacFarquhar and Michael Schoenhals. In addition, one might consider reading these two short books that can provide a content for Chinese history and literature: Confucianism: A Very Short Introduction by Daniel K. Gardner and Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn) by Damien Keown.

Photo Credit: Penguin Random House, Promotional Material, Public Domain