Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958–1962

The historian Frank Dikötter examines the Great Chinese Famine of 1958 to 1962 under Mao Zedong, drawing on four years of research in newly opened provincial, county and city archives. He argues that the famine lasted at least four years, not the three sometimes stated, and that decisions taken by the leadership in Beijing were its direct cause, including higher food procurement quotas imposed on the countryside to pay for imports. The book has been described as the most detailed account of the famine, and has also been criticised by some academic reviewers for its use of sources.