[[Edgar Snow]], an admirer of the Chinese communists, introduced Mao and [[Zhou Enlai]] to American readers in 1937 in his book, ''Red Star Over China'', shortly after the [[Chinese Red Army]]'s rout by [[Chiang Kai-shek]] in 1934 and their year long retreat to [[Yenan]] known as the [[Long March]]. Snow wrote, "The political ideology, tactical line and theoretical leadership of the Chinese Communists have been under the close guidance, if not positive detailed direction, of the [[Communist International]], which during the last decade has become virtually a bureau of the Russian Communist Party." And he further declared that the CCP had to subordinate itself to the "strategic requirements of [[Soviet Russia]], under the leadership of [[Stalin]]."<ref>''Red Star Over China'' by Edgar Snow, New York, 1937.</ref> In 1957, in ominous foreshadowing of his true callous nature, Mao Zedong boasted in his "American Imperialism is a Paper Tiger" speech regarding the prospect of China entering [[nuclear war]] that:
{{Quote|I’m not afraid of nuclear war. There are 2.7 billion people in the world; it doesn’t matter if some are killed. China has a population of 600 million; even if half of them are killed, there are still 300 million people left. I’m not afraid of anyone.|Mao Zedong|<ref>https://www.theepochtimes.com/maos-nuclear-mass-extinction-speech-aired-on-chinese-tv_4758.html</ref>}}
Mao defeated [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s Nationalists, taking control of the Chinese mainland and establishing the so-called [[People's Republic of China]].
==Three Years of Disasters==