Winner of Capital's
Praestantia Award for Excellence in Teaching, and among the most widely
published scholar at Capital University, Dr. Alexander "Sasha"
Pantsov is a professor of history and holder of the Edward and Mary Catherine
Gerhold Chair in the Humanities.
Born in Moscow,
Pantsov graduated from the Moscow State University Institute of Asian and
African Studies. He has published more
than 10 books, including The Bolsheviks and the Chinese Revolution, 1919-1927. His biography of Mao Zedong is the current
standard.
MAO: The Real
Story, published in 2012 by Simon & Schuster, by Pantsov and historian
Steven Levine, received critical acclaim for its detailed examination of Mao
Zedong’s political and personal life.
Chronicling Mao’s
peasant background, Pantsov and Levine recount the leader’s determination to
succeed, his role in the upcoming Communist Party of China, and his
architecture of the People’s Republic of China. The book explores Mao’s
personal life, and with Pantsov’s exclusive access to the closely held archives
of the Chinese Communist Party, undertakes a thorough reinterpretation of the
legendary politician, who “lived and behaved” as China’s last emperor.
Kirkus Reviews
says of the book, “comprehensive, authoritative new study that challenges the
received wisdom regarding Mao’s relationship with Stalin and the Soviet
Union … The Great Helmsman fully fleshed, still complicated and ever
provocative.”