Tombstone : the great Chinese famine, 1958-1962 / Yang Jisheng ; translated from the Chinese by Stacy Mosher and Guo Jian ; edited by Edward Friedman, Guo Jian, and Stacy Mosher ; introduction by Edward Friedman and Roderick MacFarquhar.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [577]-609) and index.

Introduction / by Edward Friedman and Roderick MacFarquhar -- Translators' note -- A chronology of the great famine -- An everlasting tombstone -- The epicenter of the disaster -- The three red banners : source of the famine -- Hard times in Gansu -- The people's commune : foundation of the totalitarian system -- The communal kitchens -- Hungry ghosts in heaven's pantry -- The ravages of the five winds -- Anxious in Anhui -- The food crisis -- Turnaround in Lushan -- China's population loss in the great leap forward -- The official response to the crisis -- Social stability during the great famine -- The systemic causes of the great famine -- The great famine's impact on Chinese politics -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.