King Leopold's Ghost - by Adam Hochschild (Paperback)

About the Book

With a new foreword from best-selling author Barbara Kingsolver and a new afterword, King's Leopold Ghost is riveting, eye-opening history from a master storyteller.

Book Synopsis

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. In a horrifying episode of colonial exploitation, he ultimately slashed the area's population by ten million yet 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--a dark chapter in African history. 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.

How did one man orchestrate a holocaust while cultivating a reputation as a great humanitarian, and who were the heroes that dared to fight back?

• A Megalomaniacal King: Discover the story of King Leopold II of Belgium, a ruler of monstrous greed who plundered the Congo, slashing its population by millions while living a life of luxury.
• The Forgotten Holocaust: Uncover a horrifying, state-sponsored campaign of terror and forced labor that stands as one of the great mass killings of recent history.
• The First Human Rights Movement: Meet the brave handful of missionaries, travelers, and African rebels who defied Leopold and gave birth to the twentieth century's first great international human rights campaign.
• Gripping Narrative History: Praised as a work of history that reads like a novel, this meticulously researched account brings a dark, forgotten chapter of the past to vivid, unforgettable life.

Review Quotes

"An enthralling story, full of fascinating characters, intense drama, high adventure, deceitful manipulations, courageous truth-telling, and splendid moral fervor . . . 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." --Neal Ascherson, Los Angeles Times "A vivid, novelistic narrative that makes the reader acutely aware of the magnitude of the horror perpetrated by King Leopold and his minions." --The New York Times "King Leopold's Ghost is a remarkable achievement, hugely satisfying on many levels. It overwhelmed me in the way Heart of Darkness did when I first read it--and for precisely the same reasons: as a revelation of the horror that had been hidden in the Congo." --Paul Theroux "Carefully researched and vigorously told, King Leopold's Ghost does what good history always does--expands the memory of the human race." --The Houston Chronicle

About the Author

ADAM HOCHSCHILD is the best-selling author of seven books. King Leopold's Ghost was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, as was his recent To End All Wars. Bury the Chains was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the PEN Center USA Literary Award.