The Red Emperor, Michael Sheridan - Tom
The story of Xi Jingping’s life, with all its trials and tribulations, is recounted in The Red Emperor, and explains to a great extent why he, and by extension, China, are the way they are.
Despite being born in to one of the senior families in China, Xi and the rest of his family were subject to very rough treatment under the regime of Mao. Xi kept his head down where possible, and despite suffering periods of punishment, he managed to climb the greasy promotion pole. He eventually held the three top jobs in China, which meant that he could declare himself in power for life – as the Red Emperor.
Others see him as a dictator, but any criticism of Xi or his policies brought swift retribution. Perceived opponents or dissidents would disappear from public view, only to later reappear at a trial, in most cases followed by a prison sentence. In these trials and punishments, Xi claimed to be rooting out corruption, however such rooting out did not include his own family.
In short this book is easy to read, despite being very dense with good research, and is very informative. I recommend this to all interested in modern world history or world politics - you need to read this book.
Tom
