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King Leopold's ghost : a story of greed, terror, and heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild
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King Leopold's ghost : a story of greed, terror, and heroism in Colonial…

by Adam Hochschild

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I started the book but my brilliant daughter will have to give me a thumb nail sketch when she has time.
  GEPPSTER53 | Jul 16, 2009 |
An incredible expose of colonial practices that gives background to the current situation in Democratic Republic of Congo, it is also compelling read. ( )
  kdunkelberg | Jul 9, 2009 |
An amazing, well-researched, informative book. My brother went to the Congo a few years ago to develop more micro-finance in the area, and some of the stories he told while there make so much more sense now--i.e. the strained relationship between blacks and whites, the current corruption in their government, the guerilla warfare, etc. There's a history of incredible, terrible repression, slavery, slaughter, and abuse that clearly made this country what it is today. Turns the stomach and makes one want to weep at the cruelty of mankind. The story of the people who fought to end this era of human rights abuses might have inspired me to join Amnesty International sometime soon. ( )
  KendraRenee | Jun 7, 2009 |
This kind of history that is shocking and unforgettable. One of my favorite books of the year. ( )
  zenosbooks | Mar 19, 2009 |
At the end of the nineteenth century African colonialism was at its height, and no more was this evident than in King Leopold of Belgium’s personal scramble for the area known as the Congo. Adam Hochschild follows the development of the Congo under Leopold and its brutal, ruthless regime against the natives. But in his story of cruelty is also the story of those who opposed and rallied against Leopold.

I was assigned to read this book as a study in colonialism during a first year university history course. I read only about half of it and then stopped; not because of lack of interest, but because exams and other distractions had started to dominate my time more. Two years later I’ve returned to this book and now I feel embarrassed that I ever let it go. It is gripping, meticulously researched, and written more like a novel than an academic text, which makes it easy reading in style at least.

The subject? Not so much. It’s hard to read about such rampant genocide and not feel personally disgusted or moved, which was the case for me. History of African colonization is not a topic that I’m well acquainted with. I don’t think a lot of westerners are acquainted with it. It’s not taught much in schools in any case, and I knew nothing about the Congo prior to this book. Now I feel like I’ve made the first step in knowledge, although I’m sure there’s still a long way to go.

The synopsis of this book calls the opposition to Leopold’s Congo the first human rights movement of the twentieth century. I think this is a vital book for anyone who is interested in the history of human rights campaigns, or anyone in general who wants to know more about the world’s darker, bleaker histories. ( )
  jibrailis | Feb 17, 2009 |
Showing 1-5 of 32 (next | show all)
Although much of the material in "King Leopold's Ghost" is secondhand -- the author has drawn heavily from Jules Marchal's scholarly four-volume history of turn-of-the-century Congo and from "The Scramble for Africa," Thomas Pakenham's wide-ranging 1991 study of the European conquest of the continent -- Hochschild has stitched it together into a vivid, novelistic narrative that makes the reader acutely aware of the magnitude of the horror perpetrated by King Leopold and his minions.
 
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Canonical Title
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People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
For David Hunter (1916-2000).
First words
The beginnings of this story lie far back in time, and its reverberations still sound today.
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
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Canonical titleKing Leopold's ghost : a story of greed, terror, and heroism in Colonial Africa
Original publication date1998
People/CharactersKing Leopold II of Belgium
Important placesCongo Free State, Belgium, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Awards and honorsNational Book Critics Circle Award finalist (General Nonfiction, 1998), Duff Cooper Prize (1999), Commonwealth Club of California Book Awards (Nonfiction, Gold, 1998), Mark Lynton History Prize (1999), Lionel Gelber Prize (1999)
DedicationFor David Hunter (1916-2000).
First wordsThe beginnings of this story lie far back in time, and its reverberations still sound today.
Last words(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
DescriptionCongo, de grootste en wat bodemschatten betreft de rijkste staat van Midden-Afrika, dankt zijn ontstaan aan een man, nl. de Belgische koning Leopold II. Door uiterst gewiekst te opereren wist hij op de Conferentie van Berlijn... (show all)
Book description
Congo, de grootste en wat bodemschatten betreft de rijkste staat van Midden-Afrika, dankt zijn ontstaan aan een man, nl. de Belgische koning Leopold II. Door uiterst gewiekst te opereren wist hij op de Conferentie van Berlijn (1884/85) internationale erkenning te krijgen voor de Congo Vrijstaat, een staat die in feite niets anders was dan zijn privé kolonie. Onder het mom van strijd tegen de Arabische slavenhandel en het brengen van beschaving vestigde de koning een waar schrikbewind. Dwangarbeid, onderdrukken van opstanden, willekeurige executies, honger, ziekten en uitputting eisten een zware tol. Deze verschrikkingen leidden tot het ontstaan van een internationale protestbeweging. Mede onder de druk van deze beweging besloot de koning Congo te verkopen aan de Belgische staat. Dit boek geeft een uitstekende beschrijving zowel van de geschiedenis van de Congo Vrijstaat alsmede van die van de internationale protestbeweging. De levenslopen van de hoofdrolspelers maken deel uit van de beschrijving. De S. heeft vele bronnen geraadpleegd. Het resultaat is een uitzonderlijk waardevol boek dat wetenschappelijk verantwoord is zonder dat dit ten koste gaat van de leesbaarheid.

Amazon.com (ISBN 0395759242, Hardcover)

King Leopold of Belgium, writes historian Adam Hochschild in this grim history, did not much care for his native land or his subjects, all of which he dismissed as "small country, small people." Even so, he searched the globe to find a colony for Belgium, frantic that the scramble of other European powers for overseas dominions in Africa and Asia would leave nothing for himself or his people. When he eventually found a suitable location in what would become the Belgian Congo, later known as Zaire and now simply as Congo, Leopold set about establishing a rule of terror that would culminate in the deaths of 4 to 8 million indigenous people, "a death toll," Hochschild writes, "of Holocaust dimensions." Those who survived went to work mining ore or harvesting rubber, yielding a fortune for the Belgian king, who salted away billions of dollars in hidden bank accounts throughout the world. Hochschild's fine book of historical inquiry, which draws heavily on eyewitness accounts of the colonialists' savagery, brings this little-studied episode in European and African history into new light. --Gregory McNamee

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:22 -0400)

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