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King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism
 
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King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism (Paperback)

by Adam Hochschild (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 356 pages
  • Publisher: Pan Books; New edition edition (20 Jan 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0330441981
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330441988
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13.2 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 10,971 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > History > Military History > War Crimes > Genocide
    #2 in  Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > Slavery
    #10 in  Books > History > Countries & Regions > Africa > 20th Century

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Years ago, Adam Hochschild came across a reference to the "five to eight million lives" destroyed in the colonial exploitation of the Congo. Startled, he realised that this had been "one of the major killing grounds of modern times. Why were these deaths not mentioned in the standard litany of our century's horrors?" His corrective history makes sobering and gripping reading. In King Leopold of Belgium, who decided to buy himself an empire to compensate for his country's smallness, he portrays a villain of Shakespearian dimensions. Aided by Stanley (of "Mr Livingstone I Presume" fame) the king appropriated a section of central Africa the size of Western Europe as his personal territory. The appalling brutality that ensued, as Europeans plundered the country for rubber and ivory, is vividly captured by Hochschild. He manages to leaven the horror with touches of grotesque humour--for instance, when tricking tribal chiefs into signing away their land for bales of cloth, Stanley would, to impress his dupes, secrete a battery in his pocket with the wires in his palm, so that on shaking hands the chief "was greatly surprised to find his white brother so strong that he nearly knocked him off his feet". Hochschild has something of Simon Schama's gift for populist history; and among other things he provides astonishing background to Joseph Conrad's Congo-set masterpiece, Heart of Darkness. --Adam Roberts --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Giles Foden, The Guardian, 24 April 1999
"As Adam Hochschild tells in his fascinating book about the Congo's terrible encounter with Europe. . . . the creation of Zaire under the dictator Mobutu, the break-up of that country and its renaming Congo, and the civil war that rages there now--all of these can be traced back to Leopold's bloody enterprise." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism
80% buy the item featured on this page:
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism 4.5 out of 5 stars (16)
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In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in the Congo 4.9 out of 5 stars (14)
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Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
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3 star:
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Eye-opening account of a contemporary horror story., 3 Sep 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa (Paperback)
The Belgian rape of the Congo is a subject barely touched on in the history books, and is more likely to be encountered as a stimulus to literary genius (witness Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"). This book is well-written and readable, and serves to whet the appetite for the subject. Although it is in many ways a compelling read, it leaves many questions unanswered and the reader will find him/herself wanting more information. As an iconoclastic work it reveals a darker side not only to a particularly "romantic" period of history, but to some feted individuals (for example, Stanley, of Dr. Livingstone fame). It should therefore be regarded as an accessible introduction to the topic which will stimulate the reader to seek further information. Comprehensive bibliography.
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars An epic theme that deserves a better treatment, 23 Nov 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in the Congo (Paperback)
The process by which the Congo was opened and colonised was unique in African history. This book details Leopold II of Belgium's acquisition and ruthless exploitation of the region as a personal fief, an undertaking that was simultaneously epic and squalid. Untold hundreds of thousands of Africans - perhaps even millions, the statistics are uncertain - died under conditions of the most appalling suffering to satisfy this mean-spirited egomaniac's greed. Worse still, the whole callous process, which descended at times into orgiastic sadism, was aided and abetted by a range of administrators, business interests and even missionaries. Leopold dominates the narrative, a malign, hypocritical and wealth-obsessed spider at the centre of a vast business web, busy until his deathbed in creating schemes of breath-taking ambition and of true, unadulterated evil, never visiting the lands he made a hell, never glimpsing the wretches whose lives he ruined. Almost as an aside he also very competently cheated his own Belgian subjects as part of his profit-maximisation and, when international pressure finally made continued running of the Congo as a private estate impossible, dumped it upon them, so creating the seeds of another tragedy from the 1960's onwards. Villains outnumber the heroes in the story by a substantial margin, and the efforts of the magnificent trio of E.D. Morel, Roger Casement and the Liverpool shipping magnate John Holt to expose the scandal and end the abuses were rewarded with only qualified success. This book is readable, and covers the basic facts of the story, often in a somewhat sketchy manner, but one longs repeatedly for more detail and for imposition of a firmer chronological sequence on the events described. The writing lacks a real sense and feel for Africa, its landscapes and its peoples, and indeed Thomas Packenham's treatment of the same topic in his "The Scramble for Africa", though more summary, is considerably more convincing and rewarding. An interesting footnote is that when Irish forces went to the Congo in 1960 as part of the UN response to the secession of Katanga, they did so as "The Casement Brigade" and the airbase near Dublin they flew out from has been known thereafter as the "Casement Airfield". One feels that the old champion of Congolese rights and of Irish independence would have approved fully.
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39 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A poor treatment of an awful tragedy, 16 Feb 2002
By Minutor (London, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in the Congo (Paperback)
It is a pity that such a well researched book on an important and oft ignored subject has been spoiled by the author's particular style and interpretation. The book is full of superfluous moral comments, the author also rolls out tired cliches such as supposed sexual retardation and homosexuality of key figures and often reduces events to a simple conflict between black and white. Much of the interpretation is overprinted with a particular moralising tone and in some instances is curiously slanted. For example Britain and the Royal Navy's efforts to eliminate slavery are trivialised as an anti-Arab campaign, the author emphasies Spain and Portugal's role in slavery but chooses not to mention the significant and major part played by his own country the USA. As I result I found the book a difficult and frustrating read which detracts from the facts and the awfulness of King Leopold's Congo.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic history of the Heart of Darkness
This book explains why Joseph Conrad wrote the Heart of Darkness during his brief forray into the Congo Free State. Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. Milton

4.0 out of 5 stars Macabre but worth reading
I want to say that I enjoyed this book, but enjoy is not really a word I would use when dealing with such a grim subject. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. A. M. Bayliss

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling account of an ongoing, systemised exploitation of the Congo
Hochschild's book tells the story of the Congo as it was - Leopold's personal fiefdom.
Published 5 months ago by Exclusive Analysis Ltd

5.0 out of 5 stars Leopold II: King Of The Congo, King Of Hell
This is a stunning account of Belgium's King Leopold II's rape and plunder of the Congo. His agents and officials dealt misery and death to millions of Congolese and subjugated... Read more
Published 9 months ago by demola

5.0 out of 5 stars An emotional introduction to the history of Colonialism
I bought this book in a small dusty bookstore in an out of the way town, after reading Barbara Kingsolver's 'The Poisonwood Bible', set in the Congo and following the lives of an... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Alexandra Crampton

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent
Not sure where some of the other reviewers are coming from on this book. It is first rate: entertaining, informative, well written. A real page turner. Read more
Published 13 months ago by William Dee

4.0 out of 5 stars Cursed with Wealth
The coldly-executed, bloody-minded exploitation of the Congo by King Leopold and his business partners is a story well-worth repeating. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Charles Vasey

5.0 out of 5 stars This should be read
This is an important book that really should be on School curriculums everywhere. If you're thinking of visiting or going to work in Africa you should read this book. Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2006 by Mr. Alan F. Hill

5.0 out of 5 stars A planted evil
The Congo basin is the most cruelly raped part of Africa. It and its immediate northern and southern neighbors were the principal source of slaves for the American plantations. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2005 by Philip

5.0 out of 5 stars the forgottoen holocaust
the style of the book is the least - but it forgets two important points:
+ the lack of any comment on present day teaching in belgium - where children are still taught... Read more
Published on 14 Feb 2005 by mepossem

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