The most general and probably the most lasting expression of Mao Tse-Tung's contribution to the Chinese revolution was his thought. Stuart Schram's new book examines the unfolding of Mao's ideas, and in doing so sheds new light on other aspects of Mao Tse-Tung's life and times. The author traces the stages in the formation of Mao's thought from the May Fourth period through the Peasant Movement, the long years of armed struggle against the Kuomintang and the Japanese invaders, the foundation of a new state, his efforts to devise a ''Chinese road to socialism,'' the Sino-Soviet split, and the so-called ''Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.'' The author offers a fascinating and sure-footed analysis of Mao's intellectual itinerary, recognizing the positive value of the participatory and anti-bureaucratic thrust of his thought, and of his efforts to link Marxism with Chinese reality. This authoritative text is drawn from Volumes 13 and 15 of The Cambridge History of China, with the addition of a new Introduction and Conclusion written especially for the volume.