Wat doen wij mensen toch vreselijke dingen. In naam van onze 'hoge' cultuur, door angst of voor economisch (eigen) gewin laten we meer dan een spoor van verderf na. Dat heeft David Van Reybrouck bijna feilloos (er is wat lichte kritiek op sommige onderdelen) vastgelegd in dit verbijsterende boek....
Het is moeilijk te begrijpen hoe weinig we weten over dit grote land en zijn inwoners. Beangstigend te lezen, dat ondanks alle ongetwijfeld goedwillende hulp, weinig vooruitgang is geboekt. Of was de hulp alleen gegeven uit eigenbelang? De vele grondstoffen, de mogelijkheid jezelf te verrijken of...
This is a comprehensive history but very readable. I wasn't sure to give it 4 or 5 stars because it is a very long book and drags at times. But it's the most insightful book I've read about the issues of colonialism, how it functioned (or didn't), and the effect at the time. The author takes the...
An absolutely outstanding book! I have read two other histories of the Congo but this one was easily the best. David Van Reybrouck amassed an impressive collection of research, both from documents and personal histories. There were several well done chapters about the colonial years. Van Reyb...
When Mobutu announced the end of the single-party state, Régine was thirty-five and Ruffin was seven. Régine was headmistress at a Catholic girls’ school, Ruffin was just learning to read at a Catholic boys’ school across town. Régine had organized the teachers’ sit-in a few years before. When sh...