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King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa Paperback – September 3, 1999

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Adam Hochschild (Author)
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4.5 out of 5 stars 565 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 366 pages
  • Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (October 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0618001905
  • ISBN-13: 978-0618001903
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (565 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars"The horror! The horror!"
By D. Cloyce Smith on August 27, 2005
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Many of us who have read Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" think of it as an allegory tinged with racism--a tale of a European, Kurtz, who has abandoned the restraints of civilization and has surrendered himself to the barbaric despotism and primitive rituals innate to Africa. Yet Hochschild spends a full chapter of his excellent history reminding us of the novel's historical context: the figure of Kurtz is based on at least one real-life colonial administrator, and the barbarity is not one that is indigenous to Africa but imported from Europe. Conrad's contemporary readers understood that his novel was a condemnation more of colonial tyranny rather than of African primitivism.

And the ringleader of these gang of hoodlums who invaded the Congo and massacred its inhabitants was King Leopold II of Belgium. In a tour de force of characterization, Hochschild portrays Leopold as a petulant and greedy monster who decided at a young age that the way to wealth was ownership of an African colony and the subjugation of its inhabitants. Leopold initially made his profits through the exportation of ivory, but his bureaucrats struck gold with the expansion of the international rubber market.

The victims were the natives, who lost not only their land and their freedom, but often their lives. There is no pretty way for Hochschild to tell this story: Leopold's officials used unbelievably harsh methods to force the locals to collect rubber--all in the name of bringing them European civilization, Christian charity, and a Western work ethic. In addition to taking wives and children hostage (in subhuman conditions) until the men made their quotas, soldiers would torture or kill the inhabitants if they faltered.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe Epitome of Historical Tragedy
By A Customer on September 28, 2000
Format: Paperback
King Leopold's Ghost provides a vivid account of an episode in the modern history of Africa that was the epitome of tragedy. In this book, Adam Hochschild concerns himself with the looting of the Congo and the destruction of its peoples by a cousin of Queen Victoria, King Leopold of the Belgians.
The story is told through a succession of biographical sketches of the principal villains and heroes, the former being Leopold's accomplices and the latter his opponents. Hochschild, though bent on illuminating a great human tragedy, allows himself and the reader several curious and even piquant digressions. The first suspicion that these digressions are only there to spice up the story is belied when the author manages to make them highly relevant, such as the connection between Leopold's unsuccessful wedding night and his all-consuming desire in the Congo.
Hochschild begins this book by reminding us of the figure of Affonso I, the sixteenth-century Christian King of the Kongo, pious son of a ruler converted by the Portuguese. Affonso wrote a series of eloquent letters to the Portuguese king complaining that the slave traders were depopulating his kingdom and even seizing members of the royal family. The Portuguese, however, had meanwhile discovered a traffic more profitable than gold and they were not about to give it up.
Leopold, the figurehead monarch of a small country, successfully acquired a realm larger than France, Italy and Germany combined. For many of the new imperial powers, collecting colonies was not particularly profitable, but Leopold, through a strange mix of luck, cunning, ruthlessness and breathtaking hypocrisy, managed to gain a huge fortune.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsAn excellent non-fiction companion to Heart of Darkness
By William D. Shingleton on February 19, 2005
Format: Paperback
This is an extremely readable book, but its title is deceptive. While the full title is King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, the book is not about Africa at all. Instead, the vast majority of this book is about diplomacy and protest movements in Europe and, to a lesser extent, the United States with regards to Belgian rule in Congo. If you pick this book up looking to find the details of the governance and rule of the Congo Free State or the history of the major rebellions against Belgian rule, you will be sorely disappointed.

This is not a criticism of the author, who likely didn't select his own title anyway. If you look at the book from the standpoint of what Hochschild wanted to write, it is a good but not great work. Hochschild was mostly interested in European/American personalities and focuses on them instead of a chronology of events either in the West or in Africa. At times, this makes the book confusing, as Hochschild does not use a lot of dates to help the reader sort out the order of events. On the other hand, the personalities of the day are vivid and fascinating. Hochschild has mined the vast majority of the available evidence to give us stunningly detailed (and at times salacious) details on King Leopold and his major opponents.

Perhaps the most important feature of Hochschild's writing is that he doesn't shy away from the imperfections of his heros or try to brush away the moral ambiguities of his subject. He is the first to admit that slavery was a problem even before the first major European contact with central Africa even while showing how the European/American system was far more pernicious and devastating than anything the natives had devised.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsWow, I'm never taking my tinfoil hat off now.

I was assigned this book for class and ended up greatly enjoying it! It kept my eyes open even when I wanted them closed. Read more

Published 4 days ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Excellent

Published 11 days ago by W. Beavers
3.0 out of 5 starsSo what's new?

I give the history a "C" for the authors ability to bring events in Africa at this period in history to readers. Read more

Published 12 days ago by C. vonBlankenburg
5.0 out of 5 starseasy reading style

You will learn so much you didn't know and have a better understanding of geo-politics

Published 19 days ago by Herbert A. Davis
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A must-read for understanding the brutal and abusive history of the Congo.

Published 23 days ago by BMW
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great book ...fast service ...Thank you!

Published 27 days ago by G. M. Brassesco
3.0 out of 5 starsMostly a good read

I enjoyed reading this book but felt it really dragged at times. Just a bit too much detail. That doesn't diminish its historic impact.

Published 1 month ago by Jim
4.0 out of 5 starsIt was an interesting, intriguing look at how we ...

It was an interesting, intriguing look at how we arrived at our present world crisis. The roles of the shapers of the plunder of Africa were well researched and absorbing. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsHighly recommend

For anyone who longs to see injustices end in our world, and to thoughtfully consider the long-reaching impacts of the colonial era, this is an excellent book.

Published 1 month ago by lisaslav
5.0 out of 5 starsThis story and many of the characters are stranger than ...

This story and many of the characters are stranger than fiction - hard to believe this is a true story and harder to believe it is a part of history I never learned in school... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Shelly Schiff

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