I'm primarily interested in the formation of the CCP, civil war, and history since, though I figure it's probably good to know what happened during the republic and Qing dynasty as well.
This looks like a good reading list. I've seen the Spence book recommended a few times so I think I'll start with that, though yikes it's expensive. Adding those other two to my reading list.
Yeah China is far more complicated than many on this site are willing to admit.
Its CPC, The Communist Party of China, CCP is a colloquial term used solely in the west.
Not even the west, I think it's almost exclusively used in the US, and even then CPC is used in all official documents and academic works. It's just one of those weird naming things, like no one calls Russia the Russian Federation outside of official documents.
The CPC is almost solely referred to in political rhetoric over here, and "Chinese Communist Party" is rhetorically useful. It is one syllable shorter, it front-loads and alliterates the two scary words, and it implies the party is effectively the state - as opposed to "party of China" which implies more of a separation of roles (and perhaps some nuance).
I think that's reading too much into it on the implying the party is effectively the state (which also isn't exactly wrong). Like when I see Chinese Communist Party I just think communist party in China, same with British Labour Party. I don't really how swapping the words rhetorically implies anything relating to the state. At most it's using Chinese as a xenophobia inducing adjective on communism.
It's written by a westerner so keep that in mind but Red Star over China is a really good read, especially considering the time it was first published.
I know I'll get downvoted but if you want a non-Chinese perspective on Mao I suggest "Mao's Great Famine" by Frank Dikotter, he's in Hong Kong and from the UK so bear that in mind.
As for something more on the China side of thing I wouldn't know but I have a copy of the Little Red Book and although there isn't history inside of it, it really gives you a feel for the ideological basis of the CPC.
Mao's China and After - Maurice Meisner
Rise of the Red Engineers- Joel Andreas
