Congo - by David Van Reybrouck (Paperback)

About the Book

Van Reybrouck reviews some of the most dramatic episodes in Congolese history -- from the slave trade to the ivory and rubber booms; from the arrival of Henry Morton Stanley to the tragic regime of King Leopold II; from global indignation to Belgian colonialism; from the struggle for independence to Mobutu's brutal rule; and from the world famous Rumble in the Jungle to the civil war over natural resources that began in 1996 and still rages today.

Book Synopsis

Hailed as "a monumental history . . . more exciting than any novel" (NRC Handelsblad), David van Reybrouck's rich and gripping epic, in the tradition of Robert Hughes' The Fatal Shore, tells the extraordinary story of one of the world's most devastated countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Epic in scope yet eminently readable, penetrating and deeply moving, David van Reybrouck's Congo: The Epic History of a People traces the fate of one of the world's most critical, failed nation-states, second only to war-torn Somalia: the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa.

Van Reybrouck takes us through several hundred years of history, bringing some of the most dramatic episodes in Congolese history. Here are the people and events that have impinged the Congo's development--from the slave trade to the ivory and rubber booms; from the arrival of Henry Morton Stanley to the tragic regime of King Leopold II; from global indignation to Belgian colonialism; from the struggle for independence to Mobutu's brutal rule; and from the world famous Rumble in the Jungle to the civil war over natural resources that began in 1996 and still rages today.

Van Reybrouck interweaves his own family's history with the voices of a diverse range of individuals--charismatic dictators, feuding warlords, child-soldiers, the elderly, female merchant smugglers, and many in the African diaspora of Europe and China--to offer a deeply humane approach and a definitive work of political history, focusing squarely on the Congolese perspective and returning a nation's history to its people.

This meticulously researched work of African history explores:

• Belgian Colonialism: Uncover the tragic regime of King Leopold II and the rubber and ivory booms that shaped a nation.
• The Struggle for Independence: Witness the fight for freedom from colonial powers and the global indignation that accompanied it.
• Post-Colonial Africa: Follow the transition from independence to the brutal, four-decade rule of Mobutu Sese Seko.
• The Congolese Perspective: Hear the voices of a diverse range of individuals, from charismatic dictators and feuding warlords to child-soldiers and merchant smugglers.

From the Back Cover

From the beginnings of the slave trade through colonization, the struggle for independence, Mobutu's brutal three decades of rule, and the civil war that has raged from 1996 to the present day, Congo: The Epic History of a People traces the history of one of the most devastated nations in the world. Esteemed scholar David Van Reybrouck balances hundreds of interviews with a diverse range of Congolese with meticulous historical research to construct a multidimensional portrait of a nation and its people.

Epic in scope yet eminently readable, both penetrating and deeply moving, Congo--a finalist for the Cundill Prize--takes a deeply humane approach to political history, focusing squarely on the Congolese perspective, and returns a nation's history to its people.

Review Quotes

"[A] detailed and well-researched biography, thoroughly rooted in the lived experience of the Congolese... It is clear that the author is not your typical historian dryly publishing his findings, but a literary artist with a pen almost as sharp as Lumumba's tongue." - ThinkAfricaPress.com
"Van Reybrouck tells his story . . . through numerous astute and intelligent voices of the Congo citizens and storytellers. . . . [Van Reybrouck] is not just an historian but a significant ethnographer who deeply cares about the people whose history he is narrating." - Rain Taxi
"Balancing research with personal testimonies, Van Reybrouck . . . presents a panoramic account of Congo's turbulent past." - New York Times Book Review: Paperback Row
"A magnificent, epic look at the history of the region... A monumental contribution to the annals of Congo scholarship." - The Christian Science Monitor
"Van Reybrouck's extensive account reveals the depth and breadth of exploitation, particularly under Belgian colonial rule, and how Congo's story is one fraught with the toxic cycle of 'desire, frustration, revenge.'" - Publishers Weekly
"Van Reybrouck makes a good case for the importance of Congo to world history and its ongoing centrality in a time of resurgent economic colonialism, this time on the part of China. - Kirkus Reviews
"...this sweeping history of Congo begins during the precolonial era and brings readers all the way up to the current era of warlords and civil war. Van Reybrouck's carefully researched and elegantly written book takes in the reader with compelling portraits of ordinary people that enrich what would otherwise be a fairly conventional historical narrative." - Foreign Affairs
"Van Reybrouck's carefully researched and elegantly written book takes in the reader with compelling portraits of ordinary people that enrich what would otherwise be a fairly conventional historical narrative." - Foreign Affairs
"A vivid panorama of one of the most tormented lands in the world... A valuable addition to the rich literature that Congo has inspired." - Washington Post
"A well-documented and passionate narrative which reads like a novel. [..] As an eye, a judge, and a witness, a talented writer testifies." - V.Y.M. Mudimbe, author of The Invention of Africa
"Congo is a remarkable piece of work. Van Reybrouck [keeps] a panoramic history of a vast and complex nation accessible, intimate and particular." - Michela Wrong, author of In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz
"a monumental history . . . more exciting than any novel." - NRC Handelsblad
"An unbelievable tour de force." - Humo
"An absolute masterpiece!" - VPRO Radio
"Breathtaking." - Trouw
"If you are looking to read one book on Congo this year, this is it. David Van Reybrouck combines deep historical investigation with extensive ethnography. The result is an illuminating narrative." - Mahmood Mamdani, Director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research and author of Good Muslim, Bad Muslim
"A well-documented and passionate narrative which reads like a novel. In a first-person rendering, Van Reybrouck retraces the stories and confrontations that bring together Congolese post-colonial clamors of the twentieth century and the late nineteenth century colonial adventures that explain them. As an eye, a judge, and a witness, a talented writer testifies." - V.Y.M. Mudimbe, author of The Invention of Africa
"This is a magnificent account, intimately researched, and relevant for anyone interested in how the recent past may inform our near future... Van Reybrouck's bibliography alone is worth the cover price. But what distinguishes the book is its clearheadedness." - New York Times Book Review
"... a compelling mixture of literary and oral history that delivers an authentic story of how European colonialism, African resistance, and the endless exploitation of natural resources affected the lives of the Congolese." - Booklist