King Leopold's Ghost

King Leopold's Ghost
Author: Adam Hochschild
Publisher: Picador
Total Pages: 474
Release: 2019-05-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1760785202

With an introduction by award-winning novelist Barbara Kingsolver In the late nineteenth century, when the great powers in Europe were tearing Africa apart and seizing ownership of land for themselves, King Leopold of Belgium took hold of the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. In his devastatingly barbarous colonization of this area, Leopold stole its rubber and ivory, pummelled its people and set up a ruthless regime that would reduce the population by half. . While he did all this, he carefully constructed an image of himself as a deeply feeling humanitarian. Winner of the Duff Cooper Prize in 1999, King Leopold’s Ghost is the true and haunting account of this man’s brutal regime and its lasting effect on a ruined nation. It is also the inspiring and deeply moving account of a handful of missionaries and other idealists who travelled to Africa and unwittingly found themselves in the middle of a gruesome holocaust. Instead of turning away, these brave few chose to stand up against Leopold. Adam Hochschild brings life to this largely untold story and, crucially, casts blame on those responsible for this atrocity.

The Congo from Leopold to Kabila

The Congo from Leopold to Kabila
Author: Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja
Publisher: Zed Books
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2002-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781842770535

As this book shows, the People of the Congo have suffered throughout the past century from a particularly brutal experience of colonial rule, and a series of post-independence political conflicts. But as this insightful political history of the Congolese democratic movement of the 20th century decisively makes clear, its people have not taken these multiple oppressions lying down. Instead, they have struggled both to establish democratic institutions at home and to free themselves from exploitations abroad.

Background Notes

Background Notes
Author: United States. Department of State. Office of Media Services
Publisher:
Total Pages: 488
Release: 1975
Genre: Area studies
ISBN:

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters
Author: Jason Stearns
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2012-03-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 1610391594

A "meticulously researched and comprehensive" (Financial Times​) history of the devastating war in the heart of Africa's Congo, with first-hand accounts of the continent's worst conflict in modern times. At the heart of Africa is the Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, bordering nine other nations, that since 1996 has been wracked by a brutal war in which millions have died. In Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, renowned political activist and researcher Jason K. Stearns has written a compelling and deeply-reported narrative of how Congo became a failed state that collapsed into a war of retaliatory massacres. Stearns brilliantly describes the key perpetrators, many of whom he met personally, and highlights the nature of the political system that brought these people to power, as well as the moral decisions with which the war confronted them. Now updated with a new introduction, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters tells the full story of Africa's Great War.

The Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo
Author: Michael Deibert
Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2013-09-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1780323484

Over the past two decades, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been at the centre of the deadliest series of conflicts since the Second World War, and now hosts the largest United Nations peacekeeping mission in the world. In this compelling book, acclaimed journalist Michael Deibert paints a picture of a nation in flux, inching towards peace but at the same time solidifying into another era of authoritarian rule under its enigmatic president, Joseph Kabila. Featuring a wealth of first-hand interviews and secondary sources, the narrative travels from war-torn villages in the country's east to the chaotic, pulsing capital of Kinshasa in order to bring us the voices of the Congolese - from impoverished gold prospectors and market women to government officials - as it explores the complicated political, ethnic and economic geography of this tattered land. A must-read for anyone interested in contemporary Africa, The Democratic Republic of Congo: Between, Hope and Despair sheds new light on this sprawling and often misunderstood country that has become iconic both for its great potential and dashed hopes.

Historical Dictionary of Republic of the Congo

Historical Dictionary of Republic of the Congo
Author: John Frank Clark
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 571
Release: 2012
Genre: History
ISBN: 0810849194

Previously published as: Historical dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo / by Emizet Franocois Kisangani and F. Scott Bobb. 2010.

Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Author: Emizet Francois Kisangani
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 718
Release: 2009-10-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0810863251

The third edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo looks back at the nearly 48 years of independence, over a century of colonial rule, and even earlier kingdoms and groups that shared the territory. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 800 cross-referenced dictionary entries on civil wars, mutinies, notable people, places, events, and cultural practices.

Freedom in Congo Square

Freedom in Congo Square
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2017-01-17
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1499804792

Chosen as a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2016, this poetic, nonfiction story about a little-known piece of African American history captures a human's capacity to find hope and joy in difficult circumstances and demonstrates how New Orleans' Congo Square was truly freedom's heart. Mondays, there were hogs to slop, mules to train, and logs to chop. Slavery was no ways fair. Six more days to Congo Square. As slaves relentlessly toiled in an unjust system in 19th century Louisiana, they all counted down the days until Sunday, when at least for half a day they were briefly able to congregate in Congo Square in New Orleans. Here they were free to set up an open market, sing, dance, and play music. They were free to forget their cares, their struggles, and their oppression. This story chronicles slaves' duties each day, from chopping logs on Mondays to baking bread on Wednesdays to plucking hens on Saturday, and builds to the freedom of Sundays and the special experience of an afternoon spent in Congo Square. This book will have a forward from Freddi Williams Evans (freddievans.com), a historian and Congo Square expert, as well as a glossary of terms with pronunciations and definitions. AWARDS: A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2016 A School Library Journal Best Book of 2016: Nonfiction Starred reviews from School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and The Horn Book Magazine