"Zhou Enlai, China's first premier, is overshadowed by Chairman Mao, but Zhou's influence in his own time and since has been vast. Chen Jian shows Zhou using his political and bureaucratic skills and centralism to mitigate the damage caused by Mao's radicalism and argues that Zhou created conditions for the post-Mao reforms that have made China a superpower."-- Provided by publisher.

Childhood (1898-1910) --Manchuria to Naikai (1910-1917) -- Japan (1917-1919) -- May Fourth Activist (1919-1920) -- Becoming a Communist in Europe (1920-1924) -- Into Storms of the Great Revolution (1924-1927) -- Shanghai Underground (1927-1931) -- Jiangxi Countryside (1931-1934) -- The Long March (1934-1935) -- "As Chinese, We Must Fight as One Nation" (1935-1937) -- Chongqing Fog (1938-1943) -- Yan'an Sunrise (1941-1945) -- The Vortex of Big Power Politics (1944-1946) -- The Civil War (1946-1949) -- "We, the Chinese, Have Stood Up" (1949-1950) -- The Korean War (1950-1953) -- Transition to Socialism (1952-1955) -- From Geneva to Bandung (1954-1955) -- To Rush or Not to Rush (1956-1958) -- The Great Leap Forward (1958-1960) -- Mao Retreats to the "Second Line" (1959-1962) -- The Chairman Returns (1962-1963) -- Revolutions in the Intermediate Zone (1962-1965) -- Gathering Storms in Gusty Winds (1965-1966) -- Opening Salvoes of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1967) -- Great Chaos All Under Heaven (1967-1968) -- Lin Biao Dies (1969-1971) -- Nixon and Kissinger Come to China (1969-1972) -- Glory Reaps Tears (1972-1974) -- Last Days (1974-1976)