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lnoe15's review against another edition
slow-paced
4.5
An in depth telling of the US colonial role in Congo and broader African continent — file under things you don’t learn in US schools.
charlesbilby's review
informative
medium-paced
5.0
A really fascinating read, my only complaint is that I would have liked to see the scope broadened to more countries, the focus on Ghana and Congo gave me a really good sense of what the CIA was doing there but I'm sure they were up to neo-colonialism in other places. Then again it's already a brick of a book and so well researched. A really interesting and informative book I'm glad to have read.
melanierae's review against another edition
I am not smart enough for this 😭 the narrator is great and the author is laying out names, events, and everything very clearly but I just do not have the foundation of knowledge to be able to keep up
zachcarter's review against another edition
5.0
This is a treasure trove of CIA secrets and U.S. actions in Africa, focusing specifically on Ghana's independence in 1957 to Lumumba's assassination in 1961 and Nkrumah's overthrow in 1966. Equal parts inspiring and infuriating, I was blown away with just how much has come out about what the CIA was doing in the Congo, Ghana, and elsewhere. And yet, so many details are still completely missing or redacted, so this represents the minimum level of CIA involvement, everything from surveillance and spying to arming and assassinating.
I was very interested in the All African People's Conference and seeing the diversity of opinion presented by people like Fanon and Nkrumah, and to see Nkrumah's evolution to supporting Fanonian violence (and then Nyerere, too!). There are lessons to be learned here as well as movements and leaders to learn from.
Long live Lumumba! Long live Nkrumah!
I was very interested in the All African People's Conference and seeing the diversity of opinion presented by people like Fanon and Nkrumah, and to see Nkrumah's evolution to supporting Fanonian violence (and then Nyerere, too!). There are lessons to be learned here as well as movements and leaders to learn from.
Long live Lumumba! Long live Nkrumah!
bigdaddystout's review against another edition
3.0
This book just isn’t really what it’s marketed to be. Three-quarters of it is about the overthrow and assassination of Lumumba, which is fine, if it didn’t purport to be about the undermining of African leaders throughout the continent. It also goes on random tangents and isn’t very linear. After Lumumba’s assassination, it is sort of all over the place. Obviously well researched and packed full of details, just wasn’t what I hoped it would be.