King Leopold's Ghost
A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
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4.5 • 72 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
The 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.
Customer Reviews
King Leopolds Ghost
If you don’t know history, it is bound to repeat itself. The atrocities of colonialism and white supremacy are amplified by misinformation and lies.
The Devil in Brussels
Adam Hochschild’s current turn-of-the-century masterpiece in the legacy of Leopold in Africa is a must-read. Hochschild is on a singular mission to show how greed gets wrapped in one lie after another in order to commit one of the greatest atrocities in history. In Leopold’s case, we see that even philanthropy and emancipatory messages can be manipulated under the auspices of a demon like Leopold.
Hochschild’s repackaging of Leopold’s exploits is scholarly in its detail and precision. He utilizes a wide cast of historical personas that were in Leopold’s orbit or tangentially relevant to what happened in the Congo. In this way, Hochschild shows that even the most inadvertently connected contributed to or thwarted Leopold’s goals. All of this demonstrates the complex connections through time, politics, and commerce that tie the fate of Africa to the larger world.
In the Congo’s case, that connection is the rubber terror that raped the region of its wealth but more importantly, its people. More broadly speaking, Hochschild shows us that the pillaging of Africa is a terror that has never ended. It has just transitioned from one resource war into another; oil, silicon, water, and others. A powerful tone that underscores that late-stage Western capitalism is nothing more than weaponized greed that bastardizes all ideas of morality.
In the end, this book is another example of how powerful people are brought down by the smallest of overlooked vices. The truth is known today only because of the perseverance of a passionate few to memorialize the record during their time. A monumental effort in contrast to the blatant document burning and manipulation of the state. An example that we need to follow today. It is also a fitting reminder that Belgium will forever live under the ghost of Leopold’s evil.
Congo
Eye opening read.
Loved it.