Dancing In The Glory Of Monsters: Amazon.co.uk: Jason Stearns: Books

Review

"This courageous book is a plea for more nuanced understanding and the silencing of the analysis-free `the horror, the horror' exclamation that Congo still routinely wrings from Western lips."

--Michaela Wrong, The Spectator

"[Stearns] is probably the most widely travelled and the most meticulous and empathetic observer of the war there. This is a serious book about the social and political forces behind one of the most violent clashes of modern times--as well as a damn good read."
--Economist

"(Dancing in the Glory of Monsters is) a brave and accessible take on the leviathan at the heart of so many of Africa's problems... Stearns's eye for detail, culled from countless interviews, brings this book alive... I once wrote that the Congo suffers from `a lack of institutional memory', meaning that its atrocities well so inexorably that nobody bothers to keep an account of them. Stearns's book goes a long way to putting that right."
--Daily Telegraph

"(T)he best account so far (of the Congolese conflict): more serious than several recent macho-war-correspondent travelogues, and more lucid and accessible than its nearest competitor... The task facing anyone who tries to tell this whole story is formidable, but Stearns by and large rises to it..."
--The Scotsman

"(Dancing in the Glory of Monsters) is a serious, admirably balanced account of the crisis and the political and social forces behind it, providing vivid portraits of both victims and perpetrators and eyewitness accounts of the main events... (this is) perhaps the most accessible, meticulously researched and comprehensive overview of the Congo crisis yet." --Financial Times

"(Dancing in the Glory of Monsters is) one of the most gripping and comprehensive accounts of this human tragedy yet written... Stearns makes a convincing case that greater international understanding is a crucial first step - and if he's right then this book could be a major contribution."
--New Humanist

(R)eadable and humane...This intelligent and moving book may help us understand some of the people of the Congo better. --TLS

A serious account of the social and political forces behind one of the most violent clashes of modern times... by one of its most meticulous and empathetic observers.
--The Economist (Books of the Year)

Product Description

At the heart of Africa is Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, bordering nine other nations, that since 1996 has been wracked by a brutal and unstaunchable war in which millions have died. And yet, despite its epic proportions, it has received little sustained media attention. In this deeply reported book, Jason Stearns vividly tells the story of this misunderstood conflict through the experiences of those who engineered and perpetrated it. He depicts village pastors who survived massacres, the child soldier assassin of President Kabila, a female Hutu activist who relives the hunting and methodical extermination of fellow refugees, and key architects of the war that became as great a disaster asand was a direct consequence ofthe genocide in neighbouring Rwanda. Through their stories, he tries to understand why such mass violence made sense, and why stability has been so elusive. Through their voices, and an astonishing wealth of knowledge and research, Stearns chronicles the political, social, and moral decay of the Congolese State.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

Exceptional 17 July 2011

By Giles M. Smith

Format:Hardcover

Written with a pace and narrative Grisham would be proud of. Caught between a tragedy, horror and comedy. An amazing story many would never have heard and fewer understand. Intelligent, thought provoking, shocking, horrifying and resembling Catch-22 in places. From the genocide in Rwanda to the country today - fifteen years of history, five million deaths. Page turning, readable - highly recommended.

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

brilliant and unsettling 31 July 2011

By Dave

Format:Kindle Edition

I have read dozens of books on the RDC but none of them come close to pulling all the threads together like this one in a readable but upsetting history, I lived in Congo Brazzaville for many years and realise now that my "in depth" knowledge of the DRC,s history hadn,t even scratched the surface, I would urge anyone to buy and read this book and then try to imagine the horrors still going till this day..and then look on in wonder at the lack of interest shown by the Western political elite. True a lot of the pain is self inflicted but nobody deserves what the poor in the RDC have to contend with on a daily basis.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

Definitely worth a read 18 July 2011

By Aftiti

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

'Dancing in the glory of monsters' is another brilliant example of a journalist delving into history and presenting an accessible account that is enthralling and accurate. This book follows Dowden's 'Africa, Altered States, Oridnary Miracles', Merridith's 'The State of Africa', and Wrong's 'In the footsteps of Mr Kutz', chronicling the history of the DRC. If anything is lacking, it is the attention given to Western powers and their influence at this time. Stearns introduces elements of influence but neglects for whatever reason to take this further. Contextualising it from an African regional experience is fine, but in my opinion this should be more explicit.

If you find the DRC interesting then this book increases the intrigue!