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9780062200129: Congo: The Epic History of a People
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From the beginnings of the slave trade through colonization, the struggle for independence, Mobutu's brutal three decades of rule, and the civil war that has raged from 1996 to the present day, Congo: The Epic History of a People traces the history of one of the most devastated nations in the world. Esteemed scholar David Van Reybrouck balances hundreds of interviews with a diverse range of Congolese with meticulous historical research to construct a multidimensional portrait of a nation and its people.

Epic in scope yet eminently readable, both penetrating and deeply moving, Congo--a finalist for the Cundill Prize--takes a deeply humane approach to political history, focusing squarely on the Congolese perspective, and returns a nation's history to its people.

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Review:
"A vivid panorama of one of the most tormented lands in the world... A valuable addition to the rich literature that Congo has inspired."--Washington Post

"Van Reybrouck's extensive account reveals the depth and breadth of exploitation, particularly under Belgian colonial rule, and how Congo's story is one fraught with the toxic cycle of 'desire, frustration, revenge.'"--Publishers Weekly

"a monumental history . . . more exciting than any novel."--NRC Handelsblad

"Breathtaking."--Trouw

"This is a magnificent account, intimately researched, and relevant for anyone interested in how the recent past may inform our near future... Van Reybrouck's bibliography alone is worth the cover price. But what distinguishes the book is its clearheadedness."--New York Times Book Review

"Van Reybrouck's carefully researched and elegantly written book takes in the reader with compelling portraits of ordinary people that enrich what would otherwise be a fairly conventional historical narrative."--Foreign Affairs

"[A] detailed and well-researched biography, thoroughly rooted in the lived experience of the Congolese... It is clear that the author is not your typical historian dryly publishing his findings, but a literary artist with a pen almost as sharp as Lumumba's tongue."--ThinkAfricaPress.com

"An unbelievable tour de force."--Humo

"An absolute masterpiece!"--VPRO Radio

"If you are looking to read one book on Congo this year, this is it. David Van Reybrouck combines deep historical investigation with extensive ethnography. The result is an illuminating narrative."--Mahmood Mamdani, Director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research and author of Good Muslim, Bad Muslim
From the Back Cover:

The gripping saga of one of the world's most devastated countries

The Democratic Republic of Congo currently ranks among the world's most failed nation-states, second only to war-torn Somalia. David Van Reybrouck's Congo: The Epic History of a People traces the history of this devastated nation from the beginnings of the slave trade through the arrival of Sir Henry Morton Stanley, the ivory and rubber booms, colonization, the struggle for independence, and the three decades of Mobutu's brutal rule. Van Reybrouck also examines the civil war--the world's deadliest conflict since the Second World War. Still raging today after seventeen years, the Congolese war is driven, in part, by the demand for the rare-earth minerals required to make cell phones.

Van Reybrouck has balanced hundreds of interviews with meticulous historical research to construct a many-dimensional portrait of the rich and convoluted history of Congo. Taking pains to seek out the Congolese perspective on the country's history, Van Reybrouck creates a panoramic canvas wherein the child soldiers whom he encounters in the eastern rebel territories talk candidly about their choices and misfortunes, and where elderly Congolese--some of them more than one hundred years old--reminisce about their lives in a country where the average life expectancy has dropped to forty-five.

Vast in scope yet eminently readable, both penetrating and deeply moving, Congo does for Africa what Robert Hughes's masterful and novelistic The Fatal Shore did for Australia. Van Reybrouck takes a deeply humane approach to political history, focusing squarely on the Congolese perspective and returning a nation's history to its people. Published to rave reviews in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2010, Congo has now been gracefully translated by the exceptional Sam Garrett, most recently the translator of Herman Koch's bestselling The Dinner.

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  • PublisherEcco Press
  • Publication date2015
  • ISBN 10 0062200127
  • ISBN 13 9780062200129
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages656
  • Rating

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