Public Libraries of Suffolk County, New York

Congo, the epic history of a people, David van Reybrouck; translated from the Dutch by Sam Garrett

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages [561]-618) and index

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

Congo

bibliography

David van Reybrouck; translated from the Dutch by Sam Garrett

the epic history of a people

The Democratic Republic of Congo currently ranks among the world's most failed nation-states, second only to war-torn Somalia. David Van Reybrouck's Congo: The Epic History of a People traces the history of this devastated nation from the beginnings of the slave trade through the arrival of Sir Henry Morton Stanley, the ivory and rubber booms, colonization, the struggle for independence, and the three decades of Mobutu's brutal rule. Van Reybrouck also examines the civil war--the world's deadliest conflict since the Second World War. Still raging today after seventeen years, the Congolese war is driven, in part, by the demand for the rare-earth minerals required to make cell phones. Van Reybrouck has balanced hundreds of interviews with meticulous historical research to construct a many-dimensional portrait of the rich and convoluted history of Congo. Taking pains to seek out the Congolese perspective on the country's history, Van Reybrouck creates a panoramic canvas wherein the child soldiers whom he encounters in the eastern rebel territories talk candidly about their choices and misfortunes, and where elderly Congolese--some of them more than one hundred years old--reminisce about their lives in a country where the average life expectancy has dropped to forty-five

New spirits : Central Africa draws the attention of East and West : 1870-1885 -- Diabolical filth : Congo under Leopold : 1885-1908 -- The Belgians set us free : the early years of the Colonial Regime : 1908-1921 -- In the stranglehold of fear : growing unrest and mutual suspicion in peacetime : 1921-1940 -- The red hour of the kickoff : the war and the deceptive calm that followed : 1940-1955 -- Soon to be ours : a belated decolonization, a sudden independence : 1955-1960 -- A Thursday in June -- The struggle for the throne : the turbulent years of the first republic : 1960-1965 -- The electric years : Mobutu gets down to business : 1965-1975 -- Toujours servir : a marshal's madness : 1975-1990 -- The death throes : democratic opposition and military confrontation : 1990-1997 -- Compassion, what is that? : the great war of Africa : 1997-2002 -- La Bière et la Prière (Suds and sanctity) : new players in a wasted land : 2002-2006 -- The recess : hope and despair in a newborn democracy : 2006-2010 -- WWW.com

adult

Epic history of a people