Two Tyrants: Parallel Stories of Mao Zedong and Stalin Hardcover – March 23, 2026

The book unfolds Mao Zedong’s biography as its central narrative, while weaving in the life of Joseph Stalin in parallel to illuminate the forces that truly enabled Mao’s ascent. By placing the two tyrants' lives side by side and tracing the horizontal connections between them, the book arrives at a new and unprecedented understanding of Mao. A distinctive feature of this book is the revelation of a dramatic change Mao underwent early in his red career, one closely linked to Stalin. Mao at the beginning of his communist journey was not the Mao Zedong the world would ultimately come to know. He went through a formative process to evolve into that person. Recognizing this early transformation is crucial to grasping Mao's mindset and the logic behind nearly all his subsequent political choices, including his eventual split with the USSR. The Stalin section of the book not only chronicles Stalin's life but also offers a thorough inquiry into the origins and foundations of Bolshevism, shedding light on the roots of many phenomena common to Soviet-style regimes. Read more