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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
It was really interesting. It is far more a review of the Western campaign against the abuses in the Congo than an actual history of the region but this is somewhat stipulated on account of the existing primary sources. I think it does try to take a fair approach to balance but I could have had much more about the politics of forgetting in Belgium and across Europe and the successive CIA backed dictatorship of the 20th century continuing a legacy of economic domination rather than leaving this as a few pages in the conclusion. I do find narrative history easier to read but I’m not such a massive fan of great man history as a domain and I think there was a tendency to over psychoanalyse his subjects also. Regardless I loooove learning so gotta give credit where it is due.
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
Honestly I believe this book should be taught to students in school. This recent history has really shaped our current world view, and I feel that makes it much more important to our society. Not only that, but the writer does a great job of telling the story: he doesn’t present historical figures as completely heroic and without flaws, he reminds readers of who certain historical figures are since the names can be confusing, and he continuously remarks on how this historical tragedy helped to shape the later tragedies during the World Wars. This portrayal has begun to open my eyes to some of the tragedies occurring in the colonies of the imperialistic European countries, and has piqued my interest (and slightly scared me) to learn more.
My favorite quote from the book:
“And yet the world we live in- its divisions and conflicts, it’s widening gap between rich and poor, its seemingly inexplicable outbursts of violence- is shaped far less by what we celebrate and mythologize than by the painful events we try to forget.” (From the Chapter “The Great Forgetting”)
My favorite quote from the book:
“And yet the world we live in- its divisions and conflicts, it’s widening gap between rich and poor, its seemingly inexplicable outbursts of violence- is shaped far less by what we celebrate and mythologize than by the painful events we try to forget.” (From the Chapter “The Great Forgetting”)