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Original Essays | June 27, 2009

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1 Hawthorne World History- Africa


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

by Michela Wrong

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

ISBN13: 9780060934439
ISBN10: 0060934433
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Known as "the Leopard," the president of Zaire for thirty-two years, Mobutu Sese Seko, 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 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, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz assesses the acts of the villains and the heroes in this fascinating story of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Review:

"A riveting inspection of the legacy of European colonialism in Africa"(A.L.A. Booklist )

Review:

"Wholly unsentimental ... Wrong gets it right ... [a] chillingly amusing cautionary tale."(Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World )

Review:

"In lively prose ... Wrong combines travelogue with astute political analysis ... terrific."(Library Journal Review )

Synopsis:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [325]-327) and index.

About the Author

Michela Wrong spent six years as a foreign correspondent covering events across the African continent for Reuters, the BBC, and the Financial Times. She currently lives in London.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
kat, June 25, 2007 (view all comments by kat)
Michela Wrong's journalistic style aids in making this account of Congolese dictator Mobutu's rise and fall not only readable, but bearable. Wrong does not shy away from revealing the horrors of his dictatorship, but ultimately paints Mobutu as more of a tragically flawed human than a monster despite the comparison to Joseph Conrad's truly monsterous Kurtz. Wrong establishes her perspective on the "Dark Continent" in her explanation of the novel's title, making it clear that "darkness" refers to corrupt man, not the continent itself.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780060934439
Subtitle:
Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo
Author:
Wrong, Michela
Author:
by Michela Wrong
Publisher:
Harper Perennial
Location:
New York
Subject:
Africa
Subject:
History & Theory
Subject:
Politics and government
Subject:
Government (non-U.S.)
Subject:
Mobutu Sese Seko
Subject:
Congo.
Subject:
History & Theory - General
Subject:
Africa - General
Subject:
Government - Comparative
Subject:
Congo (Democratic Republic)
Copyright:
Edition Number:
1st Perennial ed.
Edition Description:
Perennial
Series Volume:
107-138
Publication Date:
June 2002
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
368
Dimensions:
8.16x5.30x.88 in. .69 lbs.

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