Accidental Holy LandYanan is Chinas revolutionary holy land, the heart of Mao Zedongs Communist movement from 1937 to 1947. Based on thirty years of archival and documentary research and numerous field trips to the region, Joseph W. Esherick's book examines the origins of the Communist revolution in northwest China, from the political, social, and demographic changes of the Qing dynasty (16441911) to the intellectual ferment of the early Republic, the guerrilla movement