The book is written in the context of China's guerrilla war against Japanese occupiers; this conflict is mentioned often by Mao. In this book Mao discusses the differences between guerrilla and "orthodox" military forces, as well as how such forces can work together for a common goal. Other topics covered include propaganda and political concerns, the formation of guerrilla units, the qualities of a good guerrilla officer, discipline in a guerrilla army, and guerrilla bases.

Text: English (translation) Original Language: Chinese

This work offers translations of the material in Mao's 20 volumes, and also gives translations of other materials released in Beijing in 1993 on the occasion of Mao's centenary. The book opens with Mao's conversion to Marxism and to the Soviet model of proletarian dictatorship.

One of the most influential documents of our time, Mao Tse-tung's pamphlet on guerrilla warfare has become the basic textbook for waging revolution in underdeveloped and emergent areas throughout the world. Recognizing the fundamental disparity between agrarian and urban societies, Mao advocated unorthodox strategies that converted deficits into advantages: using intelligence provided by the sympathetic peasant population; substituting deception, mobility, and surprise for superior firepower; using retreat as an offensive move; and educating the inhabitants on the ideological basis of the struggle. This radical new approach to warfare, waged in jungles and mountains by mobile guerrilla bands closely supported by local inhabitants, has been adopted by other revolutionary leaders from Ho Chi Minh to Che Guevara. Mao wrote On Guerrilla Warfare in 1937 while in retreat after ten years of battling the Nationalist army of Chiang Kai-shek. Twelve years later, the Nationalist Chinese were rousted from the mainland, and Mao consolidated his control of a new nation, having put his theories of revolutionary guerrilla warfare to the test. Established governments have slowly come to recognize the need to understand and devise means to counter this new method of warfare. Samuel B. Griffith's classic translation makes Mao's treatise widely available and includes a comprehensive introduction that profiles Mao, analyzes the nature and conduct of guerrilla warfare, and considers its implications for American policy.

Mao Zedong (also known as Mao Tse-tung) is regarded as one of the most controversial figures in modern world history. Having conquered the country, he ruled the People's Republic of China from its establishment as a Communist state in 1949 until the time of his death in 1976. Brilliant and ruthless, his legacy includes guerrilla warfare tactics, violent cultural revolutions, and enduring Communist propaganda. He was named one of the 100 most influential figures of the 20th century by "Time Magazine."
Eric Margolis of the "Huffington Post" writes of Chairman Mao:
" "Mao was an accomplished poet, writer and historian, a profound thinker, and a superb military strategist. He crushed the US-backed Nationalist's 4.3-million strong armies in a series of titanic battles, forcing his rival, Chiang Kai-shek, to flee to Taiwan... The Great Helmsman united fractured, war-torn China, restoring its pride and self-confidence after two centuries of humiliation. Mao thwarted both Soviet and U.S. efforts to turn China into a client state, and built up China's military power... Mao's aides dared not tell him millions were starving. Red Emperor Mao was prodigal with his people's lives, and, according to aides who were close to him, was shockingly indifferent to their suffering. Mao horrified even brutal Soviet leaders by saying he was prepared to lose half his people to emerge victorious from a nuclear war...""
The third volume in this special collection contains five important lectures and essays by Chairman Mao:
*Part 1 - On Policy
*Part 2 - On Practice
*Part 3 - On Contradiction
*Part 4 - On New Democracy
*Part 5 - On the Correct Handling of Contradictions among the People
Excerpt from "Collected Writings of Chairman Mao - On Policy, Practice and Contradiction" by Mao Zedong
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Above all, Marxists regard man's activity in production as the most fundamental practical activity, the determinant of all his other activities. Man's knowledge depends mainly on his activity in material production, through which he comes gradually to understand the phenomena, the properties and the laws of nature, and the relations between himself and nature; and through his activity in production he also gradually comes to understand, in varying degrees, certain relations that exist between man and man. None of this knowledge can be acquired apart from activity in production. In a classless society every person, as a member of society, joins in common effort with the other members, enters into definite relations of production with them and engages in production to meet man's material needs. In all class societies, the members of the different social classes also enter, in different ways, into definite relations of production and engage in production to meet their material needs. This is the primary source from which human knowledge develops.

These quotations from the writings and speeches of Mao Tse-tung, the father of Chinese communism, offer a rare and penetrating insight into the political and philosophic thought of one of the most hated and revered men to ever have lived. This is a classic text in the politics of revolutionary socialism and propaganda. Note: Publication of this document does NOT constitute an endorsement by the publisher of all of its contents.

This is a new release of the original 1954 edition.

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Reprinted From The China Digest, V5, Number 9, 10, 11, February-March, 1949.

On Guerrilla Warfare by legendary revolutionist Mao Tse-tung is widely considered to be one of the greatest books of all time amongst revolutionaries. This book will surely attract a whole new generation of readers. For many, On Guerrilla Warfare is required reading for various courses and curriculums. And for others who simply enjoy reading literature on warfare, terrorism, revolutions, and the like, this book by Mao Tse-tung is highly recommended. Published by Classic House Books and beautifully produced, On Guerrilla Warfare should be considered for inclusion into everyone's personal library.

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!