King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Afri...

Big River Books
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US $8.91
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eBay item number:365786183973
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Item specifics

Condition
Good: A book that has been read, but is in good condition. Minimal damage to the book cover eg. ...
Release Year
1999
ISBN
9780618001903
Category

About this product

Product Identifiers

Publisher
HarperCollins
ISBN-10
0618001905
ISBN-13
9780618001903
eBay Product ID (ePID)
978053

Product Key Features

Book Title
King Leopold's Ghost : a Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
Number of Pages
400 Pages
Language
English
Topic
Slavery, Labor & Industrial Relations, Sociology / General, Africa / General, Human Rights, Indigenous Studies, Africa / Central, World / African
Publication Year
1999
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Political Science, Social Science, History
Author
Adam Hochschild
Format
Trade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height
1.1 in
Item Weight
10.4 Oz
Item Length
9 in
Item Width
6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
98-016813
Reviews
Carefully researched and vigorously told, King Leopold's Ghost does what good history always does -- expands the memory of the human race., 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., "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, "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 The 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, "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 itand for precisely the same reasons: as a revelation of the horror that had been hidden in the Congo." -- Paul Theroux, "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 The 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, "As Hochschild's brilliant book demonstrates, the great Congo scandal prefigured our own times . . . This book must be read and reread."--Neal Ascherson, A vivid, novelistic narrative that makes the reader acutely aware of the magnitude of the horror perpetrated by King Leopold and his minions., "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 The 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
Dewey Edition
21
Grade From
Ninth Grade
Dewey Decimal
967.5/102
Synopsis
In the 1880s, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium seized for himself the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. Carrying out a genocidal plundering of the Congo, he looted its rubber, brutalized its people, and ultimately slashed its population by ten million--all the while shrewdly cultivating his reputation as a great humanitarian. Heroic efforts to expose these crimes eventually led to the first great human rights movement of the twentieth century, in which everyone from Mark Twain to the Archbishop of Canterbury participated. King Leopold's Ghost is the haunting account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions, a man as cunning, charming, and cruel as any of the great Shakespearean villains. It is also the deeply moving portrait of those who fought Leopold: a brave handful of missionaries, travelers, and young idealists who went to Africa for work or adventure and unexpectedly found themselves witnesses to a holocaust. Adam Hochschild brings this largely untold story alive with the wit and skill of a Barbara Tuchman. Like her, he knows that history often provides a far richer cast of characters than any novelist could invent. Chief among them is Edmund Morel, a young British shipping agent who went on to lead the international crusade against Leopold. Another hero of this tale, the Irish patriot Roger Casement, ended his life on a London gallows. Two courageous black Americans, George Washington Williams and William Sheppard, risked much to bring evidence of the Congo atrocities to the outside world. Sailing into the middle of the story was a young Congo River steamboat officer named Joseph Conrad. And looming above them all, the duplicitous billionaire King Leopold II. With great power and compassion, King Leopold's Ghost will brand the tragedy of the Congo--too long forgotten--onto the conscience of the West.
LC Classification Number
DT655

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Big River Books

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  • p***c (3)- Feedback left by buyer.
    Past 6 months
    Verified purchase
    Book arrived in great condition. It was described accurately. It was shipped in a bubble mailer, so there was some minor damage to it on edges. No big deal, still worth the price! Seller was communicative and recieved my message when I dmed them about an issue.
  • r***k (92)- Feedback left by buyer.
    Past 6 months
    Verified purchase
    AAA+++ Book arrived on time & undamaged. Could have been protected by a box but came came shipped in bubble shipping slip. Lucky I guess. As advertised used but in like new condition. Sells else where for around $100.00 locally. Price was worth the chance. Collection book for my wife & made her happy. Would buy again but hope for better packing for a hard cover book. Quick shipping
  • m***m (14)- Feedback left by buyer.
    Past 6 months
    Verified purchase
    Shipped promptly and packed up securely. All books are in great condition. The box part of the box set looks like it may have come apart and was taped up on one of the upper corners. Not a big deal to me and the box still fits all the books securely, but the taping was not mentioned in the description. Would have been disappointing if I was looking for a box set that looked like it was in mint or near mint condition.

Product ratings and reviews

4.8
13 product ratings
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Most relevant reviews

  • Most favourable review

    One of history 's worst mass murderers.

    Astounding tale of greed, cruelty and unbridled racism by a colonial tyrant who ruled Belgium and created the Belgian Congo as his own piggy bank. Phenomenallyrics well researched historical indictment of a bloodthirsty killer who easily joins the ranks of Hitler and Stalin. Only worse. An unputdownable history lesson, of human list for power and money, and the crimes committed under colonialism and the Scramble for Africa.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: jakegorton2014

  • great Book. well written on a forgotten subject.

    Book itself in "new" condition. Subject matter well presented. Have been looking for a book on this subject for several years, Most informative!

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: second.sale

  • Compelling Tale of the Congo

    This is a must read for any history buff. A tale of European hubris and brutality on a grand scale. King Leopolds's Congo was the source material for Conrad's "Heart of Darkness. Fiction could nor truly describe the horrors indigenous tribes endured under the brutal reign of Leopold's henchmen. Hitler doesn't have a thing on this Belgian king.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: thrift.books

  • Text book style

    It was a good book but I was not in the mood to study history.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: goodwillexpress

  • Leopold’s Ghost

    Extremely interesting book!

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: goodwillrs