Brazza, A Life for Africa [Paperback]

Maria Petringa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 13, 2006

This fascinating true-life adventure takes the reader on a journey from Papal Rome, to Belle-Epoque Paris, to French Colonial Africa.

Brazza, A Life for Africa tells the story of Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, a European explorer, colonial governor, and human rights investigator. He gave his life trying to expose the abuse and torture of enslaved African workers in the rubber-producing regions of Congo, Gabon, and elsewhere in equatorial Africa.

From Brazza's early explorations, his diplomatic encounters with African tribal chiefs, and his studies of the daily life, flora, and fauna of central Africa, to his courageous investigation of human rights abuses, Brazza, A Life for Africa contains numerous parallels to today's events.  The 1904 Toqué-Gaud torture scandal in central Africa was eerily similar to the Abu Ghraib scandal in 2004.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a fascinating story of a truly inspiring man.  It is a great feat of scholarship, and the author does a good job of keeping the reader interested.  Truly, a profound contribution to colonial scholarship."
--Writers Digest

"In this lively study the author charts the eventful life and premature death of Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, the memory of whose impact on Africa is preserved in the name of the city of Brazzaville."
--French Colonial Historical Society

"Stanley took by force while Brazza used diplomacy, which is why the two Congos have different histories.  There is so little in English about the Republic of Congo that I consider this book one of my best finds."
--Leslie Nevison

"The best biography in English of the explorer Pierre de Brazza."
--Dr. William T. Walker, Term Paper Resource Guide to Nineteenth-Century World History

"Maria Petringa has done a great service by writing an engaging account of Brazza's life.  He saw the risks of European injustice in Africa when others saw only profit."
--Hugo Slim, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict

From the Publisher

Brazza, A Life for Africa is a National Sons of Italy 2007 Book Club Selection, and a Nominee for the French Colonial Historical Society's 2007 Heggoy Book Prize.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (January 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1425911986
• ISBN-13: 978-1425911980
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,427,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #27 in Books > History > Africa > Republic of the Congo

More About the Author

MARIA PETRINGA was born in Boston, USA, and obtained her B.A. with honors in Romance Languages and Literatures from Harvard University. Working as a teacher and translator, she lived in France, Italy, Germany, and Congo-Brazzaville before settling in Paris. There she completed an M.A. with highest honors (Maitrise mention tres bien) in Comparative Literature from the Sorbonne Nouvelle.

Since the mid-1990s she has worked exclusively as a professional writer and journalist, specializing in art and history. She has published in English and French.

From 1997 to 2006, she studied and traveled extensively in the Middle East, including Egypt, Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. She has a basic knowledge of both the Arabic and Hebrew languages. Since 1999 she has contributed reviews of Islamic Art exhibits in the West to the Saudi newspaper ARAB NEWS, the Middle East's leading English daily. A selection of these articles may be consulted by entering the searchword "Petringa" at http://archive.arabnews.com/search/

BRAZZA, A LIFE FOR AFRICA, her first book, combines many of her interests, including the French and Italian languages, the diversity of African cultures, Westerners' adaptation to traditional societies, human rights issues, and conservation and technology in developing countries. Any journalist worldwide may receive a press review copy of BRAZZA, A LIFE FOR AFRICA upon request to [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nobility of spirit and degradation of colonialism, March 28, 2006

By 

M. Luria (Jerusalem) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brazza, A Life for Africa (Paperback)

This biography of Pierre de Brazza gives us an inspiring portrait of a very good man in a very bad time, the age of European colonialism in Africa. Brazza, who explored and administered French Equatorial Africa at the end of the 19th century, tried desperately to civilize the colonialists' treatment of the African natives. He ultimately failed, though his ideals and efforts are inspiring. His failure shows, however, that the "heart of darkness" was not an aberration, that colonial exploitation of Africa was incurably corrupt and cruel, for the French as for the Belgians. Reading this book dispels any lingering sentimentality for this enterprise, provides the reader with a fascinating portrait of an important though (at least in the English-speaking world) largely forgotten man,

and gives us a devastating picture of nineteenth-century imperialism. "Brazza, A Life for Africa" is hard to put down.

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last - an excellent biography of Brazza in English, May 24, 2009

By 

Hugo Slim (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brazza, A Life for Africa (Paperback)

Pierre Brazza is an extremely important figure in the history of the encounter between Europe and Africa. His non-violent approach to colonialism and his belief in fair and mutual trade between Europeans and Africans was exceptional among his more rapacious and self-serving peers in the late 19th century. Maria Petringa's excellent biography Brazza is a superb account of Brazza's consistent challenge to the kind of exploitative colonialism that fast came to dominate Afro-European relations. Petringa tells the exciting story of Brazza's life with great pace and insight. She reveals his particular vision from his letters, diaries and lectures. She follows him compassionately as explorer, national celebrity, colonial administrator and human rights investigator. Finally, she accompanies him disgraced, discarded and dying in Algiers. His final report on atrocities in Congo has been suppressed and France has chosen to pursue the violent and exploitative approach to Empire. Maria Petringa has done a great service by writing such an engaging and important account of Brazza's life in English. I hope it will encourage the English speaking world to give Brazza his rightful place in history and to recover some of his ideas. Like Roger Casement - also largely forgotten until recently - Brazza saw the risks of enormous European injustice in Africa when others saw only profit.

4.0 out of 5 stars Brazza, A Life for Africa, October 31, 2006

By 

Patricia R. Clark - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brazza, A Life for Africa (Paperback)

I have lived and traveled in Africa a great deal. I recently acquired a copy of Maria Petringa's book

on Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza and thoroughly enjoyed it. What a fascinating man. This book would make a great movie and I would hope somebody in the industry would pick it up and do just that. It is a good book and I highly recommend reading it. Pat Clark