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rrgailey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
“Please tell the people in your country, a child in the Congo dies every day so that they can plug in their phones."
This is one of the most thorough and sickening indictments of capitalism I have read to date. Those who argue that the invisible hand will maintain order in a free market economy forget two important forces: human greed and our ability to ignore atrocities impacting others. From human slaves to rubber to uranium, the rest of the world has brutally ripped people and resources from the Congo for centuries to fuel its own development. Cobalt mining, driven by increasing demand for long-lasting, green technology, is just the latest resource making tech CEOs billions while people in the Congo send their children to dig tunnels in mines because otherwise they could not feed their families.
The author of this book spent years in the Congo gathering data, observing cobalt production processes, and interviewing hundreds of people involved in the cobalt industry. The conclusion? There is no such thing as ethically sourced, child-labor free cobalt to power our phones, computers, electric vehicles, and more. Tech companies, mining companies, and government officials can say what they like, but the reality is the people of the Congo have their land ripped from them and then must work for literal cents and dollars a day in dangerous and often violent conditions while those further up the cobalt supply chain make literal billions. The policies intended to prevent this? Nonexistent, ineffective, or simply ignored. The NGOs monitoring this? Nonexistent, ineffective, or simply ignored. The government officials and structures locally and globally regulating cobalt production and sales? Nonexistent, ineffective, or at worst, corrupt.
In short, this is a gut-wrenching account of how there is no such thing as ethical consumption under the current forces of global capitalism. The intertwining and devastating impacts of colonialism and capitalism are still reaping havoc in the Congo today as they have for centuries, and we need to push for the companies who we all buy from (which again, are making literal billions) to do better.
This is probably the longest review I have we’ve written on here to date, but the stories in this book will haunt me for a while to come.
This is one of the most thorough and sickening indictments of capitalism I have read to date. Those who argue that the invisible hand will maintain order in a free market economy forget two important forces: human greed and our ability to ignore atrocities impacting others. From human slaves to rubber to uranium, the rest of the world has brutally ripped people and resources from the Congo for centuries to fuel its own development. Cobalt mining, driven by increasing demand for long-lasting, green technology, is just the latest resource making tech CEOs billions while people in the Congo send their children to dig tunnels in mines because otherwise they could not feed their families.
The author of this book spent years in the Congo gathering data, observing cobalt production processes, and interviewing hundreds of people involved in the cobalt industry. The conclusion? There is no such thing as ethically sourced, child-labor free cobalt to power our phones, computers, electric vehicles, and more. Tech companies, mining companies, and government officials can say what they like, but the reality is the people of the Congo have their land ripped from them and then must work for literal cents and dollars a day in dangerous and often violent conditions while those further up the cobalt supply chain make literal billions. The policies intended to prevent this? Nonexistent, ineffective, or simply ignored. The NGOs monitoring this? Nonexistent, ineffective, or simply ignored. The government officials and structures locally and globally regulating cobalt production and sales? Nonexistent, ineffective, or at worst, corrupt.
In short, this is a gut-wrenching account of how there is no such thing as ethical consumption under the current forces of global capitalism. The intertwining and devastating impacts of colonialism and capitalism are still reaping havoc in the Congo today as they have for centuries, and we need to push for the companies who we all buy from (which again, are making literal billions) to do better.
This is probably the longest review I have we’ve written on here to date, but the stories in this book will haunt me for a while to come.
impnextdoor's review
3.0
Before I state my thoughts, I want to preface this by saying that the content in this book is incredibly important and necessary learning for all people but especially those in the heart of capitalist empires like the USA. However, I found that the documentary style narration in this book served to center the narrator and ultimately bolster a sentiment of pity rather than solidarity with the Congolese people. The author relays his own experience visiting multiple mining sites in the DRC by describing what he saw and recounting interviews with local individuals and families. Although this information is all necessary, he only discusses suffering and ugliness in the country without shedding light on the beauty of the people and the land destroyed by colonization. Of course, the scale of suffering is immeasurable and vital to illustrate but needs to be characterized by the people living it with resilience and sustained love. I also found it frustrating that the author at multiple points throughout the book referenced Heart of Darkness without addressing the racism in that novel and the myriad critiques it has received. All in all, I do think this book has a lot to offer and is an important piece about the conditions of mining cobalt in the DRC and the horrors faced every day at the bottom of the renewable energy supply chain, but it is incomplete and must be paired with emic perspectives of culture and resistance.
haleybird's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
This book was incredibly thought provoking and informative, it’s just really dense and was personally hard for me to get through, but I’m glad I did! It’s difficult for me to keep up with so many acronyms, company names, so much data and stats, etc.
Regardless of that, however, I do believe this is a book that anyone who uses rechargeable electronics or electric vehicles should read. The more people know about the atrocities that continue to be committed in the Congo for the sole purpose of exploiting their resources, the better.
I will surely be much more conscious about my consumption of products that use rechargeable batteries moving forward, as I can’t in good conscience keep blindly consuming while children, women, and men in the Congo continue to die indiscriminately. We all need to do better!
Regardless of that, however, I do believe this is a book that anyone who uses rechargeable electronics or electric vehicles should read. The more people know about the atrocities that continue to be committed in the Congo for the sole purpose of exploiting their resources, the better.
I will surely be much more conscious about my consumption of products that use rechargeable batteries moving forward, as I can’t in good conscience keep blindly consuming while children, women, and men in the Congo continue to die indiscriminately. We all need to do better!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, War, Blood, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, Genocide, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Colonisation, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, and Trafficking
dkatreads's review
4.0
3.5 If I’m honest, this book was one long experience of wanting to scream and rage and grieve for the violence that the cobalt industry is wielding against the people of the Congo. There is no accountability. Our collective society has deemed these image bearers as cannon fodder for our modern lives. It is a true horror.
The lesson: Capitalism is a scourge. The lack of a path toward human dignity is not a result of any individual’s choices—it is impossible to create a system that produces flourishing in the midst of such brute and destructive resource extraction without a fundamental reordering of the economic incentive structure of the industry. We need a new imagination for how we live together, and in this world which holds its treasures out for us to grab and wield, or perhaps, cherish.
I’m grateful for the stories that make these atrocities real to those of us in the west who bear responsibility for our insatiable appetite for consumption. Our consumer demand kills. We enable the degradation of human life across the world in a scale that would crush us if we encountered it with our own eyes. We must learn to see this. And we must choose joyful non-participation, resistance, and generosity instead.
This book is important, and I have so much respect for the author’s years long dedication to researching for it. But, as for its form, I feel it was haphazardly assembled. The author often relied on cheap, cheesy transitions and cliff-hanger hooks which felt a little inappropriate for the context. It read like a very long Atlantic article but with less insight. I’m grateful for the historical context, but I did want more. Also, I would’ve benefited from a better explanation of how consumer facing tech companies utilize cobalt in their production, and I think it would’ve been better served at the end to provide a kind of “what to do next” after reading. Finishing this book left me feeling despoiled of hope for the Congo—but perhaps this the most accurate window Kara could provide of the life of an artisanal cobalt miner in the DRC.
The lesson: Capitalism is a scourge. The lack of a path toward human dignity is not a result of any individual’s choices—it is impossible to create a system that produces flourishing in the midst of such brute and destructive resource extraction without a fundamental reordering of the economic incentive structure of the industry. We need a new imagination for how we live together, and in this world which holds its treasures out for us to grab and wield, or perhaps, cherish.
I’m grateful for the stories that make these atrocities real to those of us in the west who bear responsibility for our insatiable appetite for consumption. Our consumer demand kills. We enable the degradation of human life across the world in a scale that would crush us if we encountered it with our own eyes. We must learn to see this. And we must choose joyful non-participation, resistance, and generosity instead.
This book is important, and I have so much respect for the author’s years long dedication to researching for it. But, as for its form, I feel it was haphazardly assembled. The author often relied on cheap, cheesy transitions and cliff-hanger hooks which felt a little inappropriate for the context. It read like a very long Atlantic article but with less insight. I’m grateful for the historical context, but I did want more. Also, I would’ve benefited from a better explanation of how consumer facing tech companies utilize cobalt in their production, and I think it would’ve been better served at the end to provide a kind of “what to do next” after reading. Finishing this book left me feeling despoiled of hope for the Congo—but perhaps this the most accurate window Kara could provide of the life of an artisanal cobalt miner in the DRC.
holyshark's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
2.75
i have two major qualms with the book: 1) siddarth kara can write, but i hated when he was making literary speculations about deaths — the deaths are incredibly tragic themselves and kara didn't need to emotionally manipulate the reader, or add anything like "did he cry out for his mother?". 2) in the audiobook, the narrator puts on a "congolese" accent and a "chinese" accent when he's reading quotes out from the book. in WHAT world was that necessary?? distasteful, icky, and docked stars for this.