Friday, April 27, 2012

Mao - The Unknown Story









Title: Mao – The Unknown Story
Author: Jung Chang, Jon Halliday
Publisher:  Vintage Books, 2007 (First published: 2005)
ISBN: 978-0-099-50737-6
Pages: 764

Mao Tse-tung, the great leader of Chinese revolution is still a well adored figure in many parts of the world where communists continue their armed struggle against the established social order in order to replace it with an economic package proposed by an expatriate German economic thinker in the mid-19th century, to tide over crises specific to the era in which he lived. Thoughts like whether it is relevant in today’s globalized society, or reviews of what happened in those unfortunate places where ordinary folk had to submit to the inhuman ordeals inflicted on them by communist regimes do not appeal to the violent anarchists who believe in Mao’s dictum that power comes out of the barrel of a gun. Nothing characterises the lust for power, contempt for public opinion and self-centered world view of the person better than this one quoted sentence. The long book is a painfully laid out tirade against Mao and his methods. From cover to cover, the Chinese leader is showered with polemics, accusations and criticisms in a unilateral way. The book begins with the line ‘MAO Tse-tung, who for decades held absolute power over the lives of one-quarter of the world’s population, was responsible for well over 70 million deaths in peacetime, more than any other twentieth-century leader and ends with ‘His mind remained lucid to the end, and in it stirred just one thought: himself and his power’, thus achieving the dubious distinction of a totally one-sided view of the proceedings. Objective readers would benefit more from Frank Dikotter’s impressive work, Mao’s Great Famine – The History of China’s Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-62, reviewed earlier in this blog.

One of the authors, Jung Chang was born in China and left China in 1978. Her award winning book, Wild Swans, was published in 1991. Jon Halliday, her husband is a senior research fellow at King’s College, University of London.

Mao was born in a middle-income family in a remote backyard of Hunan province in China. After completing his education and training as a teacher, he joined the communist party (CCP) then under the leadership of Prof. Chen Tu-hsiu. Mao approached the professor at the right time and he was in time for participating in the 1st Congress in 1921. Moscow bankrolled the communists in China by providing money to convene meetings and organisational work. Sensing the ineffectiveness of CCP, Moscow asked them to join Nationalist Party under Sun Yat-sen in its struggle against ruling war lords. Though ideologically bound communists opposed such an unholy nexus, Mao happily worked in the conglomeration. He had moved so well along with the Nationalists that Moscow ousted him from the party in 1925. He patched up, but Sun died soon after. Communists resorted to rural uprisings and killing of landed peasants, with arson and violence closely following. Nationalist army under Chiang Kai-shek refused to toe the line in 1927 and turned against the communists. Mao decided to side with Russia this time.

Mao’s ambition was to control an army of his own. He allied with a bandit force (as claimed by the authors) and carried out raids against local counties. When the split against Nationalists resulted in heavy losses, Mao had to be reinducted on orders from Moscow. Stalin accepted the fact that he needed a winner, even though he may be a little disobedient. By 1929, Mao commanded the largest Red Army unit outside USSR. Based in Jianxi, Mao started the reign of terror he was use frequently when in power. His own comrades who didn’t exhibit slavish loyalty to Mao’s person were tortured and killed in purges, branding them AB (anti bolsheviks). In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria. Nationalist forces fighting communists were called back to fight the foreign foes, which Mao exploited well to declare a communist state on Nov 7, 1931 with Ruijin as its capital.

Chiang Kai-shek’s determined assault in 1934 made life miserable for Mao. He undertook the Long March with 80,000 followers. This was an event glorified and exaggerated to astronomical proportions. Ordinary feats were highly dramatized like the crossing of Dabu bridge in Sichuan, where in fact no one was killed. Mao reached Shaanxi in Oct 1935, with only 4000 troops remaining. During this huge march, Mao’s machinations made him the top boss of CCP and Stalin acquiesced to his leadership after the Long March. Clouds of second world war loomed on the horizon soon thereafter and Russia wanted a United China, otherwise Japan might turn towards them after easily conquering China. CCP was forced to support Chiang Kai-shek. Even though part of a united army, Reds did not participate wholeheartedly in the war against Japan. Nationalist troops perished in huge numbers. Chiang had a superiority of 60:1 in the number of troops when the war started, that dwindled to 3:1 when it ended. Stalin, meanwhile found it opportune to enter into a pact with Hitler and annexed Poland. Mao hoped they would reach such an agreement with Japan, annex China and give it in a platter to him. Chiang was getting more and more sidelined. By 1945, Mao assumed total dominance in the party and the country. With Russian support came arms and manpower. Mao routed the Nationalists and declared People’s Republic of China on Oct 1, 1949.

Mao wanted to make China a superpower during his reign and needed weapons and support. No better way was open for him than to engage in a war. Korean War, Taiwan Strait Crises and Annexation of Tibet were all opportunities to arm twist the Russians into supplying what Mao wanted. Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution were events formed out of a narrow minded ideology to extract more from already diminished reservoir of the nation’s human resources. Millions perished in the cruellest famines in China’s history materialized due to fallacious policies during the Great Leap Forward. Mao threatened to wipe out any semblance to culture from the country during the Cultural Revolution. Mao exported huge mountains of grain to fledgling communist countries in order to prop up the regime and also to cultivate alliance with him, while ordinary Chinese folk was dying in millions from hunger.

The book is a biography of Mao and carries narrations during each year of his existence. There are several curious anecdotes about him, but none of them edifying like he was insensitive to suffering even while his own children were killed, he abandoned wives frequently, was a womanizer who once claimed that 40 days was the maximum he could go without conjugal pleasures. Seniority counted for everything in Communist party. When China was reeling under food shortage, the party leaders ate and lived a lavish life. One leading ideologue remarked, “It is the order of the Party. Take Chairman Mao, for example: the Party can order him to eat a chicken a day” (p.293). Mao’s ingenious ways of purges terrified the people like none other.  In Shanghai, many committed suicide by jumping from skyscrapers to the streets below, rather than into the river, because if the body was not recovered, the regime may assume escape and penalize the living family members. Mao and the party’s attitude to peasants were inhuman in the extreme. For raising the output of farms, Mao’s agriculture chief said they depended on the peasants’ ‘two shoulders and one bottom’, that is, manual labour and excrement used as manure (p. 467). Regarding Cultural Revolution, ‘Mao had in mind a completely arid society, devoid of civilization, deprived of representation of human feelings, inhabited by a herd with no sensibility, which would automatically obey his orders’ (p. 594).

The book is totally unilateral and full of narrow criticism of Mao. While it lists the accusations one by one, it fails to account for the legendary status he genuinely obtained from the people. Naturally, it leads to discontinuity in argument. In one page, Mao is a dreaded thug, while in the next, he leads a large uprising. Some accusations appear to be downright false – the alleged poisoning of Wang Ming, a contender of Mao in 1942 by his doctor on Mao’s behest. In the struggle with Nationalist forces, every red victory is accused to be due to moles placed in Chiang’s army. Alleged human flesh banquets during Cultural Revolution are disgusting and may be wild exaggerations (p.661-2).

The book is recommended.

Rating: 2 Star

Monday, April 9, 2012

A Short History of Nearly Everything


Title: A Short History of Nearly Everything
Author: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Broadway Books 2004 (First published 2003)
ISBN: 0-7679-0818-X
Pages: 478

Undoubtedly the ‘swiss army knife’ of a book! Maintaining justice to the somewhat pompous title, there are very few areas Bryson has not visited in this magnificent work. The bane of modern science is that it has gone so specialized that even full time professionals are only able to keep track of a very small field of their own interests. During the time of Isaac Newton, a determined scholar was able to acquire knowledge of every facet of science, at least to keep up an intelligent conversation. The deluge of information that inundated science during the last two centuries has put paid to the hopes of anyone aspiring to don the mantle of the universal scholar. Well, till he comes upon this book, that is! This title provides a great panoply of topics and the who’s who in science. Astrophysics, astronomy, mathematics, physics, botany, paleontology, biochemistry, genetics are all a few of the subject matter encapsulated behind the covers. The width of Bryson’s power of narration exemplified in this book is carried to incredible limits in his recent title – At Home, A Short History of Private Life (reviewed earlier in this blog). The author performs the role of an investigator putting his microscope against mundane things – the public enchanted with the show. His handling of the subject may be likened also to a traveller, stopping to examine each and every interesting pebble on the way on which he steps on, caresses each leaf and flower he sets his eyes on and dives headlong into each stream and lake on the wayside. The travel thus goes nowhere on schedule, but the delightful feast offered to readers is beyond words.

The book is written in such a way that the concepts become discernible to the most ordinary reader without overreaching any point. While discussing about Mendeleyev and his periodic table, he says, “the actual formal determinant in the ordering (of elements) is something called their electron valences, for which you’ll have to enroll in night classes if you wish an understanding” (p.107). The introduction itself is exceedingly fine, summing up life’s existence on earth as a great achievement in itself. Later, at the end, he declares that the lesson, if any, in the book is that life is extremely lucky to have originated here. Man is especially great in coming to be, as there is no assurance that the present evolutionary path would be chosen again, if a similar scenario presented itself again, anywhere in the universe. Man must understand the delicate balance nature has put at his disposal and should act wisely to perform as stewards of all life on earth.

In the general survey of science’s progress during the last century, Bryson presents a curious anecdote of how one man came to invent two chemicals which were immensely successful as industrial products, but undermined the well being and safety of people who were using them. Those inventions addressed a great deal of issues at the time, but opened another can of worms. Thomas Midgley, Jr invented tetra ethyl lead to reduce engine knocking in petrol vehicles and CFCs for refrigeration. Eclipsing the wide applicability of those products, health issues began cropping up among its users, particularly regarding lead poisoning. The harm caused by CFCs was not evident till the last quarter of the century – depletion of ozone layer in the upper atmosphere, causing lethal ultraviolet radiation to reach the ground unfiltered and cause fatal disorders to life forms, like cancer. Both were banned over a period of decades. Midgley himself met a tragic death when he was strangled by cables of his own contraptions to turn him in his bed – he was a polio victim.

Perusing the progress of ideas presented in the book, readers are sometimes compelled to suppose that scientific ideas appear to have a designated time of birth, though ideas leading to such specific ones may be dormant or bubbling with scholarly contributions. By designated, it is not meant to be by a designer – human or divine – but anyway, there is a time for ideas to mature and be accepted by one’s peers. Theory of evolution is a fit case in point. Darwin’s grand father, Erasmus Darwin had paid tribute to evolutionary principles in a poem called ‘The Temple of Nature’ even before Charles was born. Not only that, in 1844 – 15 years before the publication of Origin of Species – a Scottish publisher, named Robert Chambers had anonymously issued a book titled Vestiges of Natural History of Creation in which he argued that humans might have evolved from primates without the assistance of a creator. The public fury attracted to his book kept him from claiming authorship of the book. Alfred Russell Wallace had come to similar conclusions as Darwin just before formal publication of his ideas. In fact, what prompted Darwin to come out openly was the fear of competition from Wallace, who was his junior collaborator and correspondent. The Linnean Society read papers from both Darwin and Wallace in the same meeting to avoid the thorny issue of precedence, though Wallace was more than happy to give way for his illustrious companion. Quite amusingly, after the publication of the paper, a Scottish gardener, Patrick Matthew came out with the rightful claim that he had published the same ideas in 1831 itself, though in a little read journal called Naval Timber and Arboriculture. Matthew vociferously protested, but the discovery was undoubtedly independent. From all these connected events, we realize that the world had become just fit enough at that time to receive the seed of a totally revolutionary idea and grow it to a big and strong tree, growing stronger still.

The book is full of crisp examples and lucid comparisons. To assess the energy released in KT impact (the meteor impact in the cretaceous-tertiary boundary which is supposed to have killed off dinosaurs and paved the way for the rise of mammals), Bryson equates it to one Hiroshima-sized bomb for each living person would still be a billion bombs short (p.345). The witty asides and humorous sketches make the extremely appealing. No reader can finish the book without a feeling of parting with a most loved partner after a brief time of blissful togetherness.

There are not much shortcomings that can be hurled against the author and this book. Whatever given here are suggestions to make it a little more appealing which it undoubtedly is at present. The absence of a few colour plates is a serious omission however. A picture of the San Andreas fault to accompany the hair rising narratives of volcanic eruptions would have riveted the attention of readers. So also are the hot water geysers of Yellostone National Park which rise to several meters above ground. Another drawback which needs to be cited is that some of the references are not solid enough to be in a scientifically oriented work, even if it is popular science. Allusions to National Geographic may be classified in this unwanted list.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 4 Star

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Galileo's Pendulum















Title: Galileo’s Pendulum – From the Rhythm of Time to the Making of Matter
Author: Roger G Newton
Publisher: Viva Books, India 2005 (First published 2004)
ISBN: 81-309-0011-4
Pages: 137

This nice little book is authored by Roger G Newton, who is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics at Indiana University. Contrary to what the reader thinks on seeing the book, the significance is on the second term – pendulum – or rather the science behind it. Galileo only makes a fleeting appearance in the text. It is a meritorious effort at discerning the order personified by harmonic working of the pendulum and the amazing discoveries and inventions to which it eventually led. All physics which came later than Galileo is heavily swayed by simple harmonic concepts which lies at the heart of the pendulum. Even quantum mechanics, the incomprehensible sibling formed during the 20th century can’t stand aloof from a liberal diffusion of the essential concepts. However, in order to avoid the fate of any book looking for only the hefty theories which came across the span of three or four centuries, Newton gently expands the horizon and let in light from diverse fields of science like biology and even some history thrown in. What emerges at the end from this seemless blend of multidisciplinary approach is a fruit which tastes so delicious.

Timekeeping is an innate feature of all living beings. A biological clock ticks inside every animal which is trained and reset frequently by sunlight so that it doesn’t go out of step. This rhythm is called the circadian (circa around, dien day) system, that runs with an approximately 25-hour cycle. It is exactly this 1-hour difference that is reset by solar light patterns like sunrise and sunset. Not only humans, birds, bacteria and plants also exhibit time-synchronous behaviour. When men began to live together in groups and tribes, established orders were introduced to keep track of flowing time for various purposes such as oblations to gods, astrological practices and agricultural activities. Babylonians brought out the first calendar based on 365 days. The torch was handed over to the Romans, with Julius Caesar essentially formulating the basis for the calendar which we see today in 46 BCE. Augustus reformed in 8 BCE by renaming the sixth month Sextilis after his own name – August. To avoid bad luck ensuing from having an even number of days (it earlier had 30 days), Augustus took one day from February (which was swinging from 29 to 30). Even with these reforms, a slight error persisted. The year really had 365.2422 days, instead of 365.25, the error began to accumulate. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII further improved the calendar by striking off 11 days from it – Oct 15 came after Oct 4 in that year. England reformed in 1752, Sept 14 came after Sept 2. Russia changed over in 1917, after the October Revolution, which curiously occurred in November. However, religious orders like Russian Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu still cling stubbornly to outdated and erroneous calendars.

After setting out days, men looked for instruments to measure hours and minutes. Water clocks called clepsydra were developed during the time of Archimedes. Anyhow, water was not suitable for reckoning time in the northern latitudes because of extreme cold and subsequent threat of freezing. Mechanical movements were employed for these countries. These were often elaborate constructions, but with poor accuracy. A reliable mechanism to produce accurate, periodic movement was needed. Galileo discovered the property of isochronism in pendulums – the period of oscillation is the same irrespective of the speed at which it is moving. Legend goes on to say that a bored Galileo during a service in the cathedral of Pisa observed the swing of chandeliers in the gentle breeze and timed the movement by counting his own pulse. The clock built on his design still works on the clock tower of Palazzo Vecchio in Florence with an accuracy of 1 minute in a week. The perfection in clocks came with Christiaan Huygens who is regarded as the father of modern pendulum clock. Invention of main springs helped make the watches compact enough to be kept in one’s pocket. Clocks of varying precision were developed over the ages, with atomic clocks employing cesium-133 setting the standard.

From pendulums, the author swings his attention to simple harmonic motion, the underlying principle of pendulums. Isaac Newton founded the theoretical precepts for this path of science, embellished later by 19th century physicists like Maxwell. One thing led to another with Albert Einstein and quantum mechanical revolution around the third decade of 20th century being remembered as one of the most fruitful era in the entire history of science. Harmonic oscillators form the backbone of vibrating superstrings, the new avatar in Physics’ quest for a theory of everything.

The book is richly endowed with a lot of diagrams and illustrations. The author’s professional acumen of teaching with the help of diagrams have come in handy in his venture as an author too. The book presents a very good coverage of the history of timekeeping showing an appealing blend of history and physics. Though depth is lacking – as can be expected from popular book – the breadth is enormous and readers are free to research further with seeds of ideas provided by the work.

Nevertheless, the long chapter on biological timekeeping is a bit tedious and generally not very much sticking to the theme of the work. Though the author acknowledges his indebtedness to biologists “for discussions and advice on matters in their fields of which, as a physicist, I was ignorant” (preface), the book covers a disproportionate amount of not quite relevant biological information. Readers wonder why he goes to unnecessary detail on a topic which is alien to the author as well. A case in point is the part on migratory birds. He claims that they are able to navigate using their innate timer (p.11). This is in doubt, however. Established opinion suggest that they use earth’s magnetic field to find their way.

Author’s attempt to mathematically derive the period of pendulum is tedious and unkind to the non-mathematical reader (p.88-91). Anyway, he issues a warning before proceeding with it that readers who are allergic to math may skip those pages. Moreover, the book lacks a steady focus. The title suggests a more pointed and structured approach, but it ends up exploring a vast ocean of ideas in physics, reaching nowhere in the end. Readers struggle to find out what really prompted Roger G Newton to write such a pointless book.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 3 Star