The Great Chinese Famine occurred between 1959 and 1961. The Great Leap Forward policies of collectivization and people's communes were direct contributing factors to this, making this a manmade disaster. On top of all the poor political and economic decisions, natural disasters also contributed to this famine. The Yellow River produced catastrophic flooding in 1958, affecting crop yields. There were also periods of drought. A complete death toll is unknown, but estimates range from 15-55 million deaths due to starvation and illnesses related to malnutrition and starvation.


This book was required reading for my Modern China class. I read most of it during the class but finally got around to reading the last few chapters. Famine is something that people do not often think about in the year 2025, though it is quite possible that it can happen at any point anywhere. It is something to seriously consider. Climate change and exceedingly poor choices by government officials can create conditions that cause widespread devastation. I thought this book was very informative and thought provoking. I hated the class, but this was a good book recommendation from it.