Mao and Maoist China

So, I've taken a stab at starting Mao:the unknown story. I only got about an hour into it - but wow! Is it ever biased and unobjective! The first sentence is something about how ruthless he was and how many people he killed, before even mentioning that he was born (which was the 2nd sentence)! Knowing next to nothing about the time or the person, and not being informed enough to form my own opinions one way or the other, I'm looking for some bit of general background or history on which to ground myself. I'm afraid this is not it. Even with my lack of understanding or reference, this just appears to be completely partial and revisionist history making. It's definitely peaked my curiosity, but that will just mean I'll need to read something else as well. Any thoughts on this book? Any suggestions for more objective background reading on Mao and China during that time? Thanks!