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.
"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
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. Ultimately slashing the area's population by ten million, he 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. 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.
A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
A New York Times Notable Book
“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
