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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
King Leopold should thank his lucky stars that WWI happened. He was on his way to being one of the most despised men of the 20th Century.
It’s staggering to think that 40-50 years after the end of the American Civil War there was still violent chattel slavery of Blacks in the Congo.
In addition to it being horrifying, it’s also incredibly well-written. One of my pet peeves is an interesting topic written by a terrible writer. This is not one of those books.
Highly recommended if you can deal with the subject. It’s not for the timid.
It’s staggering to think that 40-50 years after the end of the American Civil War there was still violent chattel slavery of Blacks in the Congo.
In addition to it being horrifying, it’s also incredibly well-written. One of my pet peeves is an interesting topic written by a terrible writer. This is not one of those books.
Highly recommended if you can deal with the subject. It’s not for the timid.
A graphic account of the Belgian slave trade in the Congo. Necessary to understanding the global history of slavery and human exploitation.
Nadat ik vorig jaar [b:Heart of Darkness|18626854|Heart of Darkness|Joseph Conrad|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1384803281l/18626854._SY75_.jpg|2877220] heb gelezen, ben ik voor de tweede keer begonnen aan dit book over het brute regime van Koning Leopold II en de internationale protestbeweging ertegen. De vorige keer heb ik misselijk van alle ellende het boek voortijdig weer op de plank gezet. Nu was ik erop voorbereid en heb ik het einde wel gehaald. Misschien lees ik hierna ook nog eens [b:Congo|23236715|Congo|David Van Reybrouck|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410937011l/23236715._SY75_.jpg|13073122], maar eerst wat vrolijker kost. [b:Max Havelaar|48480026|Max Havelaar|Multatuli|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571246458l/48480026._SY75_.jpg|73792931] of zo.
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
I loved this - tells the story of the Congo, Leopold, and those who fought against its injustices in a compelling way. Learned a lot and found someone new to respect, E.D. Morel.
Finally finished this. Ouch, ouch, ouch. All the ouch. The closing of the book brings the rest of the atrocities into perspective--who else was going the same thing and not getting called on it, how the CIA totally screwed everyone over, how the monstrosities got written over by history. Ouch.
It makes me feel like there are no good sides or bad ones, just bad ones and worse ones, with a few decent human beings trying to blackmail the bad ones into keeping the worse ones even reasonably in line. I'd like to float that someday. Not the "great man" theory of history, but the "decent human beings" theory of history.
It makes me feel like there are no good sides or bad ones, just bad ones and worse ones, with a few decent human beings trying to blackmail the bad ones into keeping the worse ones even reasonably in line. I'd like to float that someday. Not the "great man" theory of history, but the "decent human beings" theory of history.