Before Mao: The Untold Story of Li Lisan and the Creation of Communist China

New York: Ecco; HarperCollinsPublishers, 2004. 383 pages, illustrations, maps; 24 cm. Tight, clean copy. Stated First U.S. Edition. Dust jacket protected in a mylar cover. A fine copy of the first printing. "Patrick Lescot's Before Mao is a deeply moving sage of Li Lisan, Mao's predecessor at the head of the Communist Party and a key member of the Russian and Chinese revolutions. Told in an engaging style that reads more like a novel than a standard history, Lescot skillfully unfolds this page-turning biography. Li, who led the Chinese Communist Party in the 1920s, was a rare survivor among the Chinese members of the International. He was eventually allowed to return to China after having been elected, in absentia, to Mao's government. When Mao and Khrushchev fell out power after 1959, the Chinese Communist Party demanded that Li divorce his wife, Lisa. When the couple refused to do so, Lisa was only allowed to stay by becoming a Chinese citizen. Soon after, both would be victims of the Cultural Revolution. Lisa was taken from her husband shortly before he was again arrested, imprisoned, and tortured - this time fatally. She spent eight years in solitary confinement." - Publisher.. 1st. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 8vo. Collectible.