Red Flag Rising: Mao, Revolution, and the 1949 Birth of the PRC

By Ethan Gallagher

Red Flag Rising: Mao, Revolution, and the 1949 Birth of the PRC offers a sweeping and incisive account of one of the most transformative revolutions of the twentieth century. Through meticulous research and vivid narrative, historian Ethan Gallagher traces the ascent of Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party from guerrilla insurgency to national rulers, culminating in the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Far from a simple retelling, this book examines the complex interplay of ideology, military strategy, peasant mobilization, and international geopolitics that enabled the Communist victory. Drawing from Mao's writings and revolutionary campaigns, Gallagher explores how the adaptation of Marxist-Leninist principles to China's rural landscape galvanized millions of peasants and redefined revolutionary theory.

The book also scrutinizes the human cost of Mao's vision-political purges, economic upheaval, and the moral paradoxes of authoritarian modernization. Spanning from the early roots of the Chinese Communist movement through the decisive battles of the civil war and into the fraught early years of Communist rule, Red Flag Rising illuminates how a revolution forged in the countryside would reshape global history.

This is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand modern China's origins, Mao's enduring legacy, and the ideological battlelines that continue to shape global politics.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0F88J7LG1
• ISBN13: 9798283285849
• Release Date: May 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 428 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"