| King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa Contributor(s): Hochschild, Adam (Author) |
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ISBN: 0358212502 ISBN-13: 9780358212508 Publisher: Mariner Books Classics OUR PRICE: $17.99 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: March 2020 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Africa - Central - History | Western Europe - General - Political Science | Colonialism & Post-colonialism |
| Dewey: 967.5 |
| Physical Information: 1.2" H x 5.2" W x 7.9" (0.70 lbs) 416 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - African - Cultural Region - Central Africa - Chronological Period - 20th Century - Chronological Period - 19th Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: "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 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. A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist A New York Times Notable Book |
Contributor Bio(s): Hochschild, Adam: - ADAM HOCHSCHILD is the author of ten books. King Leopold's Ghost was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, as was To End All Wars. His Bury the Chains was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and PEN USA Literary Award. He lives in Berkeley, California. |