Read In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo

Michela Wrong

4.9/5 (33005 ratings)

Description:He was known as "the Leopard," and for the thirty-two years of his reign Mobutu Sese Seko, president of Zaire, showed all the cunning of his namesake, seducing Western powers, buying up the opposition, and dominating his people with a devastating combination of brutality and charm. While the population was pauperized, he plundered the country's copper and diamond resources, downing pink champagne in his jungle palace like some modern-day reincarnation of Joseph Conrad's crazed station manager.Michela Wrong, a correspondent who witnessed firsthand Mobutu's last days, traces the rise and fall of the idealistic young journalist who became the stereotype of an African despot. Engrossing, highly readable, and as funny as it is tragic, her book assesses how Belgium's King Leopold, the CIA, and the World Bank all helped to bring about the disaster that is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. If, in this poignant account, the villains are the "Big Vegetables" (les Grosses légumes) — the fat cats who benefited from Mobutu's largesse — the heroes are the ordinary citizens trapped in a parody of a state. Living in the shadow of a disintegrating nuclear reactor, where banknotes are not worth the paper they are printed on, they have turned survival into an art form. For all its valuable insights into Africa's colonial heritage and the damage done by Western intervention, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz is ultimately a celebration of the irrepressible human spirit.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo. To get started finding In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Pages: 338

Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: —

Release: —

ISBN: 0060934433

Description: He was known as "the Leopard," and for the thirty-two years of his reign Mobutu Sese Seko, president of Zaire, showed all the cunning of his namesake, seducing Western powers, buying up the opposition, and dominating his people with a devastating combination of brutality and charm. While the population was pauperized, he plundered the country's copper and diamond resources, downing pink champagne in his jungle palace like some modern-day reincarnation of Joseph Conrad's crazed station manager.Michela Wrong, a correspondent who witnessed firsthand Mobutu's last days, traces the rise and fall of the idealistic young journalist who became the stereotype of an African despot. Engrossing, highly readable, and as funny as it is tragic, her book assesses how Belgium's King Leopold, the CIA, and the World Bank all helped to bring about the disaster that is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. If, in this poignant account, the villains are the "Big Vegetables" (les Grosses légumes) — the fat cats who benefited from Mobutu's largesse — the heroes are the ordinary citizens trapped in a parody of a state. Living in the shadow of a disintegrating nuclear reactor, where banknotes are not worth the paper they are printed on, they have turned survival into an art form. For all its valuable insights into Africa's colonial heritage and the damage done by Western intervention, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz is ultimately a celebration of the irrepressible human spirit.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo. To get started finding In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Special Offer | $0.00

Special Offer! | $0.00

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo

More Books

It's Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle Blower

It's Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle Blower

Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad

Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad

I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation – Italy, Britain, US, and Soviet Colonialism in Eritrea

I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation – Italy, Britain, US, and Soviet Colonialism in Eritrea

Borderlines

Borderlines

[I Didn't Do It for You : How the World Used and Abused a Small African Nation] [By: Wrong, Michela] [June, 2005]

[I Didn't Do It for You : How the World Used and Abused a Small African Nation] [By: Wrong, Michela] [June, 2005]

Rwanda : Assassins sans frontières: Enquête sur le régime de Kagame - Essais - documents (French Edition)

Rwanda : Assassins sans frontières: Enquête sur le régime de Kagame - Essais - documents (French Edition)

La chute du léopard: Sur les traces de Mobutu (French Edition)

La chute du léopard: Sur les traces de Mobutu (French Edition)

It's Our Turn to Eat by Wrong, Michela (2009) Paperback

It's Our Turn to Eat by Wrong, Michela (2009) Paperback

I Didn't Do It For You: How the World Used and Abused a Small African Nation by Michela Wrong(2005-07-04)

I Didn't Do It For You: How the World Used and Abused a Small African Nation by Michela Wrong(2005-07-04)