Mao Zedong was one of the greatest political leaders in world history, and his thoughts literally influenced billions of people. The Handbook of Guerrilla Warfare, which he wrote in 1937, became the gospel of all the guerrilla armies that followed and formed the basis of the strategy for successful revolutionaries from Ho Chi Minh to Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.

Mao himself, faithfully following the methods described, managed a few years later to gain power over the vast state of China, of which he remained the leader for nearly thirty years, until his death. Recognizing the essential differences between agrarian and industrialized societies, Mao provides guidance on how the weaknesses of a peasant army can be turned into advantages and how surprise and retreat can be transformed into the most dangerous kind of attack.

When he wrote the handbook, Mao had already accumulated a decade of experience as the leader of a huge guerrilla army fighting against Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists. However, the two opponents had already temporarily allied to confront the invasion of the Japanese in their country.

Beyond its practical points, the Handbook of Guerrilla Warfare is an essential historical document that reveals the facts of a war to the bitter end and provides valuable information for both supporters and opponents of Mao's ideas. The Greek translation is enriched with original comments and footnotes that enlighten the reader on all the obscure or less-known aspects of the text.