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Summary: Fascinating piece of forgotten history
Review: This book truly deserves the title of "Secret History of the Congo" for it fills in some rather resounding historical blanks with intriguing anecdotes. Just about everyone knows that Henry Stanley said "Dr. Livingstone I presume" but how many were aware that he said it in the course of an expedition which had as its covert purpose paving the way for the grabbing of the Congo for King Leopold, or that Stanley himself was a mass murderer who thought nothing of liquidating entire villages of unthreatening natives? Equally invaluable are the discovery of the long lost context for Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, or telling the tale of Morel, one of the forgotten heroes of the early 20th century, who led not only the campaign to liberate the Congo from Leopold, but went on to oppose Britain's futile participation in World War I, a campaign which resulted in his imprisonment and ultimate death. Nevertheless, despite all these relevations, the book fails to establish its central thesis. The charge of "genocide" is never made to stick. Reading the book, one is left with no doubt that tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Congolese were killed in one way or another by the men of the heartless King Leopold, but the demographic evidence underlying the claim that millions died is sketchy in the extreme. The estimates of 10 million Congolese before Leopold and 5 million after that are unexplained, and seem to be nothing more than dead reckoning. Further, no attempt is made to distinguish between deaths through killing and overwork on one hand, and disease on the other. In the end we are left with the portrait of a man amazingly indifferent to the sufferings and deaths he caused among Africans, while at the same time exceptionally sensitive to his reputation among Europeans. It is a brutal indictment of the insensitivity and hypocrisy of colonialism, but offers little more than guesswork in support of its claims of an African Holocaust.
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Summary: Brutal, sure to anger Belgian colonial apologists
Review: Have you ever wondered what inspired Joseph Conrad's _Heart of Darkness_, or why there was so much bloodshed in the Congo in the early 1960s? After reading this book you'll know. Adam Hochschild begins with an brief but informative history of the Congo and European attitudes towards Africa. He then presents masterful analysis of the personality of King Leopold of Belgium, the megalomaniac king of one of the smallest and most insignificant countries in Europe and of Henry Morton Stanley, who would help Leopold realize his dreams. Leopold dreamt of vast conquests, yet since Belgium is so small there was no way these could take place in Europe, so he turned his eyes elsewhere and found the Congo. Using the pretense of African slavery and under the guise of a protector of the African peoples of the Congo, Leopold created a colonial empire of a brutality and destructive wantonness that had not been seen since the Spanish conquistadores in America 350 years before. This might have gone on forever save for a few brave Europeans and Americans who saw what was happening and spoke out against it. Hochschild spares no colonial powers in this book, he points out the hypocrisy of the English and the French and the fact that the motivations of some of those fighting against Belgium's brutal policies were motivated more by a desire to make the Belgians look bad and make gains in Africa, than they were by a desire to do the right thing. Hochschild shows how the Belgian policies that killed millions in the Congo were motivated by a total and sickening indifference to the humanity of the Congolese on the part of the Belgian occupiers. A fascinating book, I've already purchased three copies, one for myself and two for friends of mine.
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Summary: Praise for King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild:
Review: "A vivid, novelistic narrative that makes the reader acutely aware of the magnitude of the horror perpetrated by King Leopold and his minions." -Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times"Adam Hochschild's spellbinding account of imperial machinations and how these led to the first major human-rights movement of this century presents a dynamic story." -Robert Taylor, The Boston Globe "A superb synoptic history of European misdemeanor in central Africa" -Jeremy Harding, The New York Times Book Review "Carefully researched and vigorously told, King Leopold's Ghost does what good history always does--expands the memory of the human race." -Fritz Lanham, Houston Chronicle "Hochschild discovered an enthralling story, full of fascinating characters, intense drama, high adventure, deceitful manipulations, courageous truth-telling, and splendid moral fervor." Merle Rubin, Christian Science Monitor "Hochschild's gripping narrative, as dense as a novel and laden with subplots, shows among many other things the roots of the chaos and bloodshed ravaging the Congo today." -Luc Sante, San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle "By dint of tremendous research, adept scene setting and a clear passion, Hochschild spins engrossing yarns of kings and colonels, of distant station chiefs and feverish missionaries." -The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Summary: Disturbing investigative historical journalism
Review: Well-researched and well-written, a long overdue look back at the holocaust of the Belgian Congo. With care and perspective, Hochschild examines the colonization and decimation of the Congolese and comes up with a scathing damnation of Leopold and his minions. He places the saga squarely in the social and historical contexts of Africa and Europe at large, and gives credit where credit is due to the human rights advocates who tried to put a stop to the enslavement. A hell of a book. Colonial apologists and deniers will not be pleased.
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Summary: Another book to rewrite the real history into trash
Review: Several of the photographs of this book are not taken in Congo/Zaire. For example, the cover, in the French edition, shows a photo taken in the middle of the savana with two young Africans, one sitting on a chair of an hospital covers his lap with linen and another is standing. This photograph is a tricked photo because the outline of the two persons is cut and applicated "wisely" against the background to make believe that this photo is authentical and it also lacks perspective. Does the author has realized that leprosy, sleeping disease, endemic wars between tribes have created more havoc in Congo before and during the time that king Leopold was sending Stanley to follow the Congo valley. Belgium like other great power/countries of Europe wanted to play a role in Africa. However, in Belgium, many monuments honoring soldiers and officers (the author should visit for himself before writing lies) who died for fighting the Madhist movement (the same islamist extremists who fought the Brits in Soudan and took Kharthoum and they like to cut hands also) that was responsible for the enslaving of thousands and thousands of the central Africans). Many illustrations, if not most of them, are from the British colonies anyway and do not represent Bantou faces ... so these had no relationship with the Congo of Leopold -. In exchange for primary material, after 1900, Belgians built rods, schools, hospitals and clinics in the wild and the colony. Congo was with 7 universities and more than 8,000 students at the university level were trained in Belgian universities abroad, at the time the Belgians were forced by the "Great Powers" to relinquish their colony in 1960. At the same time many Congolese were also instructed in the what is called today the "Lumumba University" in Moscow to "liberate the Congo" into Zaire...giving Lumumba, then Mobutu and now Kabila the great right to rape the richest country of Africa again and realize the tribal holocaust for which these puppets paid by diamond mines De Beers and others can manipulate the minds and sociologists of U.S. colleges and write such a stupid book as this one, making believe to US youths that Belgians were bad colonists! Remember the Katanga has uranium mines with 35% rich uranium!!! the same uranium ore that was transported for "experiments" in US during the early part of the War that was finally used to make the A bombs to finish the 2nd WW!! Look in your backyard about the holocaust of Anerindians, the Chinese slaves and the construction of railroads, the slave trade and freedom of Afro-Americans, etc Just because the book has a photograph on the cover of the king Leopold II does not mean that he was responsible for an "holocaust" (term easy to use but in the wrong context)...At the time, because a small country like Belgium went faster than England and France in the rush to colonize Africa and had the best colony, these two countries were always jalous of and mock Leopold in newpapers that it is the reality. I have in my possession several books showing all the schools and hospitals and the network made to protect and vaccinate the population and show all the good that was also done for the African. In fact, the author has certainly not visited the library of the Tervueren museum of Central Africa (Brussels)to consult books and other material on the book topic that would have enlighted him. Of course he did this by going to a library and receiving photographs of unknown origin (I am still looking for Regions Beyond. Of course, I do not believe that excesses were done by colonists but I also believe that focusing on the King who had made a lot of good for Africa, by initiating the war against the slavery is not recognized for what he has done well. The French,Dutch and English after all were in favor of slavery to maintain cheap labor in their colony and sell them in South America while Belgians were against slavery! There were no slaves in Congo-Zaire under the Belgian ruling. Thank you for the oportunity given to me to comment about this trashy book.
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Summary: Nothing new, now or then
Review: The author did exhaustive research and presents it well organised. But: he has an axe to grind, and he grinds it time and time again until it wears thin.Instead of balanced history, it becomes a one-sided polemic.Reader beware!
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Summary: Colonial African atrocities revealed.
Review: This book was a total learning experience for myself. The interesting history of colonial Africa was totally unknown to me. My only prior knowledge of the Congo was that at one point it was a Belgian possession that had been troubled by some human rights problems. I can't believe that the story of the Congo and its atrocities had escaped my education to this point in my life. King Leopold's Ghost has been an inspiring book, driving me to read more about colonial Africa.
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Summary: A book that all history buffs and humans should read.
Review: Hochschild displays good storytelling skills, but the contents of the book are what make this story extraordinary. Villains get off easy, heroes suffer tragic consequences of their acts, and other things which make you love and hate history at the same time fill this book. It reads very quickly for non-fiction and an unfamiliar topic. This book makes you feel ashamed that you never heard of the events described. I recommend it to anyone, but especially those who love history and are interested in humanitarian movements.
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Summary: A Crime Against Humanity Exposed
Review: We see many people today as heroes and that is often the result of revisionist history. If one tours Brussels you cannot help but admire the magnificant material structures that are open and available to the public, celebrating the past of the Belgians. Many of these are monuments to one man-King Leopold II. Adam Hockschild cuts through to the man and exposes a butcher who is accountable for the deaths of at least 10 million human beings. The evidence presented is a prima facie case for a crime against humanity. Its is not unexpected that the such a King ordered the distruction of written records that would document his horrors. Cutting off human hands, displaying skulls as lawn ornaments all describe acts of a people who separated from the human race in their pursuit of economic gain from ivory and rubber. Adam does warn that the more distant we are from the scene of these abuses, the more likely we are to ignore or excuse this behavior. There were many good Belgians who went to the Congo and they were there to aid their fellow man (some of the missionaries as described in the book). However, we see evidence clearly presented that many people left Belgiam to seek a fortune in the Congo at whatever cost to mankind it took. We all remember the Holocast committed by the Germans during the second World War, and I thank the Author for bringing to our attention this parrarel event. The caveat is that we did not learn from this tradegy even though it was broadly publicized during its time. In less than fifty years we were doom to see history repeat itself. I do not know anything at all about Amnesty International (a group the author mentions in the book). However, I agree that the crimes committed by Leopold and his associates under the umbrella of humanitarism are deserving of serious study even if the reputation of this King is besmirshed. Just as Hitler went to his grave believing he did the right thing for Germany, Leopold left this earth believing he brought civalization to the Congolese. Both of these people were sick and poor excuses for human beings.
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Summary: A most important history.
Review: From the start of this carefully researched and intriguing historical account,one is overcome by its history's exclusion from past expose.When I was in prep-school,I read Conrad's Heart of Darkness but was completely unaware of the history behind this story which should be classified as an "historical novel".The present treatment of this history now clarifies the period and re-introduces us to such well known characters as Stanley and Livingstone as well as some lesser known true heroes of the times,Sir Roger Casement,Edmund Morel,and Reverend William Shepherd.In the course of this most intense historical account we also get to visit with Mark Twain,Teddy Roosevelt,and Joseph Conrad himself. This is a most intriguing as well as enlightening work that I recommend to all those interested in the darker side of human nature,human rights,and the events that have led to the current "state of affairs".
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