今天，世界上越来越多的人希望了解中国，而要深入了解和真正理解今天的中国是怎样来的，中国道路是怎样走出来的，就必须了解和认识毛泽东时代的中国。人们习惯称谓的毛泽东时代，时间范畴是1949年到1976年。这个时期的中国，人们称之为新中国。旧中国是毛泽东时代的前序和产床；新中国是毛泽东时代的正文和舞台。
为化繁为简而不失精要，论从史出而彰显平实，陈晋主编的《毛泽东时代的中国（英文版）》以史为线索，分“历史的‘问’与‘答’”、“新中国‘新’在哪里？”、“走进社会主义”、“冷战格局下的突围”、“有这样一个‘顶层设计’”、“计划时代”、“面对知识分子”、“移风易俗，改造社会”、“治国之道”、“国际新角色”十个专题，讲述毛泽东时代的中国那段历史，帮助读者真实了解中国道路从哪里来，到哪里去，进而读懂今天的中国。

陈晋，中央文献研究室副主任、研究员，中国中共文献研究会副会长，毛泽东思想生平研究会会长，中国毛泽东诗词研究会会长。多年来从事中共党史文献和当代理论研究，以及电影、电视文献片撰稿，著述多次获中国图书奖、全国五个一工程奖、电视金鹰奖、电影华表奖。主要著述有：《毛泽东的文化性格》、《独领风骚：毛泽东心路解读》、《毛泽东、邓小平、江泽民与中国先进文化》、《世纪小平——解读一个领袖的性格魅力》、《大时代的脉络和记忆——从五四运动到改革开放》、《毛泽东阅读史》、《陈晋自选集》等十余部。担任《毛泽东》、《邓小平》、《周恩来》、《新中国》、《独领风骚——诗人毛泽东》、《大国崛起》、《筑梦路上》等多部大型电视文献片总撰稿。

Preface: Mao Zedong and His Era
Four gunshots and the fate of China
From "Old China" to "New China"
Why did he become the soul of the era?
Before the mission of the times
Roads, dreams, and legends
Chapter One Historical Questions and Answers
"Grand unity is great strength"
"Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun"
"It takes a great party to guide a great revolution"
The will of the people trumps everything
Chapter Two What Was "New" About New China?
New image of national independence
New look of people's liberation
New situation of national unity
Chapter Three Entering Socialism
It is only a matter of time before we build socialism
Why set the clock forward?
A road of peaceful transformation
Chapter Four Breakthroughs in the Cold War Context
Siding with the Soviet Union
Strike first to spare being stricken a hundred times
Tearing apart the trade blockade
Two international conferences, one Chinese approach
Chapter Five Top-Level Design
Why 1956?
Clarifying the "Ten Major Relationships"
A grand meeting and a new route
Judgments and choices during an "eventful year"
Chapter Six Periods of Planning
How was the economic plan compiled?
Food, clothing and daily necessities for the people
"Do not rush the construction of socialism"
From development strategy to economic layout
Chapter Seven Policy Toward Intellectuals
Originally "intellectuals"
Solidarity, education and transformation
Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend
Winning the battle of science and technology
Chapter Eight Transforming Social Traditions
Removing "malignant tumors" and old customs
The new social customs
A dualistic structure of rural and urban areas
The spirit of the times
Chapter Nine National Governance
Break the "cycle of history"
How were the "nation's leaders" tempered?
"A game of chess, and a bamboo pole"
On the Cultural Revolution
Chapter Ten New Role in the International Arena
Deterioration of Sine-Soviet relations
Friends in the "intermediate zones"
A handshake across the Pacific
Back to the UN
Postscript