Spence tells the liberal intelligentsia what they're supposed to know about the Cultural Revolution: Mao was a Stalinesque schemer, his followers were overenthusiastic young dupes, and this led to consequences that were "immense, violent, and tragic." Though Spence admits that "it remains a major challenge to provide a simple unified linear narrative of the entire movement that does justice to all the issues involved," Spence does little to complicate the narrative presented by MacFarquhar and Schoenhals. For "[e]ven though [the authors' focus] means some highly charged problems have to be bypassed, the story they do tell is absorbing enough." Those not sufficiently absorbed by Spence, MacFarquhar and Schoenhals' narrative can find alternative narratives, explorations, and analyses presented elsewhere, such as the recent CSG and Monthly Review Foundation sponsored symposium held in Hong Kong this past June. The papers presented at that symposium will soon be posted on the CSG website.
