Few political leaders and diplomats of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are as significant and controversial as Zhou Enlai, China's premier from 1949 to 1976. When Mao Zedong emerged as the top CCP leader, Zhou became his chief supporter and closest colleague. Zhou supported Mao's radical programs and political purges but was also respected by Mao's rivals as “a modern Saint.” He was popular among world leaders, including US president Richard Nixon, who described Zhou “as the greatest statesman of our era.” Michael Dillon's biography of Zhou is concise and highly approachable. It explains how Zhou became a CCP leader during Mao's reign and notes his standing as a national hero within an objective human portrait. Dillon's political and social survey treats Zhou's life as the history of modern China.
Dillon's focus on “an enigmatic revolutionary” (p. x) mentions Zhou's “natural great modesty” (p. 270) and limited ambitions, creating his...
