Mao's great famine by Frank Dikotter

 

I sort of had in the back of my mind that China had a famine during Mao's rule. But I never realised its severity. Or that's its causes where predominately due to the ineptitude of central planning of a communist system and the inherent corruption.

An estimated 45 million died during this period where Mao tried to implement communes, and push iron production to the down fall of the country. The book outlines the ineptitude of leaders. The inflation of quotes, the environment degregation as Mao insisted birds killed which stole seeds which then brought about plagues of insects. The hunger of people who ate mud and and when desperate enough went to canibilism. Horrid.

The book reiterated to me that central planning doesn't work.

It also had me thinking about tyrants. Stalin, Hitler and now Mao. I suppose all leaders especially these bad guys got fed a diet of what they want to hear. But it would seem to me that Mao's people feed him an even larger amount of lies than was actually happening. I don't think it was an excuse though.

It also gave me an insight into China today. I'm pretty sure the corruption still happens. It would have to be the case with a closed and censored media. China is still a place to watch with scepticism. This stuff only happened on 50 years ago.

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Himmler, Peter Padfield

Christina has just finished "Twilight" about vampires, while I've just finished "Himmler". It got me wondering if you had no knowledge of vampires and no knowledge about Nazi philosophy and the Halocaust you then had to pick which one of these books is true. You would want the vampires.

There where a few things about the Nazis which I really didn't know about. The first was eugenics. A type of Hyper-Darwinism gone mad. Most of the mad Nazi decisions where based on this. Such as the holocaust, sterilisation, euthanasia programs to eliminate the sick and elderly. The Nazis where dedicated to getting rid of bad blood and purify the German blood line. 
I had no idea of the strength of this ideology, in decision making. Himmler was the one who implemented this scheme.

This is different to the Stalin's slaughter of his peoples. Stalin's aim was the preservation of his power.  Not that it makes it any better. (Stalin and his Hangmen)

It got me thinking about modern genetics which could possibly now forefill Nazi's perfect genetics. Without breeding and deaths.

The other interesting thing was operation 'Valkryie' the operation to eliminate Hitler in '44. Lead by Claus Von Stauffenberg. It would appear that Himmler knew of the opposition to Hitler. That it wouldn't have gotten as far as it did without Himmler letting it.

Himmler was a loyal Hitler to his own detriment and blindness. He was the second most powerful person in the Reich. Yet he could see the deterioriation of the war, came quickly to an understanding it was futile. Yet through his indecision was unable act.