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This site is about journalist Edgar Snow, US citizen.

Edgar Snow died of pancreatic cancer on February 15, 1972, in Eysins, Switzerland, at the age of 66.

🇨🇳 In a poignant twist of history, Snow passed away just three days before President Nixon’s historic visit to China, a diplomatic breakthrough that Snow had long advocated for. Recognizing his contributions, the Chinese government sent a team of doctors, nurses, and even a chef from Beijing to care for him in his final days, a rare gesture that underscored the deep respect he earned in China.

His death marked the end of a life that bridged East and West, journalism and diplomacy, and idealism with realism. Want to explore how Snow’s legacy lives on in China today?

#Brückenbauer

More Links and reading here.

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Edgar Snow, an American journalist who became the first Westerner to gain unprecedented access to Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist leadership in 1936, wrote an awesome book.

His landmark book, Red Star Over China, is a vivid account of the Long March, the rise of the Chinese Communist Party, and Mao’s personal journey.

🏞️ What makes this book so special?

• Snow spent four months in the Communist base at Bao’an, interviewing Mao and other leaders.
• Mao personally narrated his autobiography to Snow over ten days, with the Party carefully preparing and editing the content.
• Snow was even present when Mao received a physical exam from a Red Army surgeon trained in Europe, which helped dispel rumors about Mao’s health.

📘 Red Star Over China became a bestseller and was instrumental in shaping Western perceptions of Mao and the Communist movement. It introduced Mao not just as a revolutionary, but as a patriot and reformer, committed to resisting Japanese invasion and global fascism.

📘 Red Star Over China had a seismic impact on how the West viewed communism—especially Chinese communism—in the late 1930s and beyond. Edgar Snow’s vivid reporting and unprecedented access to Mao Zedong and other Communist leaders offered a humanized, sympathetic portrayal of a movement that had previously been shrouded in mystery and demonized by mainstream narratives.

🌍 Key Shifts in Western Perception

• Legitimized the CCP: Snow’s account gave the Chinese Communist Party a face and a voice, portraying Mao not as a bandit but as a thoughtful, strategic leader with nationalist and anti-fascist ideals B.
• Challenged stereotypes: The book contrasted the corruption of the Kuomintang with the discipline and idealism of the Communists, reshaping Western views of who the “good guys” might be A.
• Inspired liberal optimism: Many Western liberals saw the CCP as a progressive force, fighting feudalism and imperialism. Snow’s depiction resonated with those disillusioned by fascism and colonialism B.
• Influenced policy and public opinion: Even U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt read the book and invited Snow to the White House multiple times to discuss China’s role in resisting Japan.

📸 Cultural and Political Ripple Effects

• The book was a bestseller in Britain, selling over 100,000 copies within a month of release.
• It became a touchstone for journalists and scholars, often cited as the first authentic account of the CCP’s origins and ideology.
• Snow’s portrayal of Mao as a “Lincolnesque” figure helped frame the revolution as a grassroots struggle for justice, rather than a Soviet-style authoritarian takeover.

⚠️ Later Criticism and Reassessment

• Some scholars argue Snow was too trusting of the CCP’s narrative, noting that his interviews were edited and stage-managed.
• Others see the book as a valuable historical document, even if it glossed over internal factionalism and future authoritarianism.

In short, Red Star Over China didn’t just report history—it helped shape it.

📚 Red Star Over China wasn’t the only book to shake up how the West viewed communism. Here are several others that had a profound influence—whether by humanizing communist movements, exposing their darker realities, or challenging ideological assumptions:

🔥 Books That Humanized or Reframed Communism

• The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels
  The foundational text that introduced communism as a revolutionary ideology. It inspired generations of activists and intellectuals across the globe.
• The Real North Korea by Andrei Lankov
  Offers a nuanced, insider’s view of North Korea’s regime, helping readers understand its survival strategies beyond the usual caricatures.
• The World Turned Upside Down by Yang Jisheng
  A deep dive into China’s Cultural Revolution, showing the repetitive cycles of purges and power struggles. It reframed the era as a tragic, systemic failure rather than a heroic transformation.

⚖️ Books That Critiqued or Exposed Communist Regimes

• The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
  A harrowing account of Soviet labor camps that shattered romanticized views of the USSR and fueled anti-communist sentiment worldwide.
• The Black Book of Communism by Stéphane Courtois et al.
  A controversial but influential compilation documenting atrocities committed under communist regimes. It helped solidify the narrative of communism as a criminal ideology in post-Cold War Europe.
• Mao’s Great Famine by Frank Dikötter
  Reveals the devastating consequences of Mao’s policies during the Great Leap Forward, challenging earlier sympathetic portrayals.

🌐 Books That Explored Global Influence

• Hidden Hand by Clive Hamilton & Mareike Ohlberg
  Investigates how the Chinese Communist Party exerts influence globally—through media, academia, and politics. It’s a wake-up call for democracies.
• The Red Flag: A History of Communism by David Priestland
  Traces communism’s evolution across countries and decades, offering a balanced view of its ideals, failures, and transformations.

Each of these books shaped public discourse in its own way—some by inspiring hope only.

And Hope always dies last.

#Discourse

Was Mao a fascist?

Good question. He was a very successful communist leader in China.

Hitler was a fascist.

What is right and what is wrong?

What is right

and

what is left?

Sometimes nothing, indeed.

Nothing but HOPE.

More about HOPE.

Stalin and Mao were not criminals.

They came to absolute power, and power corrupts. As you already know.

Like Putin.

Written by Peter H Bloecker

(Retired High School Teacher of GERMAN AND ENGLISH LITERATUE living at the sunny Gold Coast of QLD inOZ.)

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Updated Thu 17 Jul 2025.