Summary of Michael P Senger's Snake Oil

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 The Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921.

It fought alongside the nationalist Kuomintang against China's warlords, and in 1933, the Kuomintang sieged Jiangxi, forcing Mao to retreat in the Long March.#2 During the Great Leap Forward, China's villagers were transported to communes with strict production quotas.

The total number of deaths remains unknown, but official estimates range from 15 to 50 million.#3 Xi Jinping was chosen as the next leader of China in 2007, after being named Vice President six months earlier.

He was chosen because of his family's history of moderation, and his obscurity.

His rival, Bo Xilai, was passed over because of his charisma.#4 Xi's ascent represented a soft coup by China's princelings, direct descendants of Mao's revolutionaries.

They saw themselves as inheritors to an empire their parents had won.