Congo : the epic history of a people /
David van Reybrouck ; translated from the Dutch by Sam Garrett.
- First edition.
- x, 639 pages : maps ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [561]-618) and index.
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 BieÌre et la PrieÌre (Suds and sanctity) : new players in a wasted land : 2002-2006 -- The recess : hope and despair in a newborn democracy : 2006-2010 -- WWW.com.
"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 developmentfÌrom 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"--