King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial AfricaThe 25th Anniversary Edition, with a foreword by Barbara Kingsolver "An enthralling story . . . A work of history that reads like a novel." — Christian Science Monitor “As Hochschild’s brilliant book demonstrates, the great Congo scandal prefigured our own times . . . This book must be read and reread.” — Los Angeles Times Book Review A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist * A New York Times Notable Book In the late nineteenth century, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium carried out a brutal plundering of the territory surrounding the Congo River. Ultimately slashing the area’s population by ten million, he still managed to shrewdly cultivate his reputation as a great humanitarian. A tale far richer than any novelist could invent, King Leopold’s Ghost is the horrifying account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions. It is also the deeply moving portrait of those who defied Leopold: African rebel leaders who fought against hopeless odds and a brave handful of missionaries, travelers, and young idealists who went to Africa for work or adventure but unexpectedly found themselves witnesses to a holocaust and participants in the twentieth century’s first great human rights movement. |
From inside the book
... told,King Leopold's Ghost does what good history always does — expands the memory of the human race.” —Fritz Lanham,Houston Chronicle “A superb, engrossing chronicle.” —Publishers Weekly “Hochschild's book is a rare thing in possessing ...
... told, and as Hochschild makes clear, it was a tragedy with continuing consequences.” —Martin Klein,Toronto Globe and Mail “King Leopold's Ghost has a riveting cast of characters: heroes, villains and bit players, all extraordinary, all ...
... told him about than to the help their magical fire-spouting weapons promised in suppressing a troublesome provincial rebellion. The Portuguese were glad to oblige. The newcomers built churches and mission schools. Like many white ...
... told young John that their son Dick would take him to visit his “Aunt Mary” in another village: The way seemed interminable and tedious. . . . At last Dick set me down from his shoulders before an immense stone building, and, passing ...
... told riveted audiences how the great hairy beasts abducted women to their jungle lairs for purposes too vile to be spoken of. Underlying much of Europe's excitement was the hope that Africa would be a source of raw materials to feed the ...
Other editions - View all
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa Adam Hochschild No preview available - 2019 |
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa Adam Hochschild No preview available - 1999 |