King Leopold's Ghost
by Adam Hochschild
Taste attributes: documentaryhistoricaljournalisticfresh & originalunsavouryheavyrealisticlinearglossybig & variedemotive & stirringinjustice/tragedy/vengeancesocial commentaryhuman spirit/resilience/survival
Boxlist takeA heavy non-fiction book that is moving, grounded and unsavoury. Best if you like depth over escapism.
Taste details
Pace: balanced · Originality: fresh · Tone: dark · Weight: very heavy · Realism: true to life · Story: balanced · Structure: linear · Look: balanced · Scale: big and varied · Emotional punch: stirringHow we score
Open Library rating
3.6 / 5
7 ratings
About This Book
In the 1880s, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium seized for himself the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. Carrying out a genocidal plundering of the Congo, he looted its rubber, brutalized its people, and ultimately slashed its population by ten million--all the while shrewdly cultivating his reputation as a great humanitarian.
Description: Open Library
Characteristics
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Details
- Author
- Adam Hochschild
- Published
- 1998
- Pages
- 392
- Taste scores
- How we score
- Source
- Open Library
How book matches work
Books are scored on the same ten characteristics as films and matched with the same formula and your own match bands. Book scores are estimates, made from Open Library subjects and descriptions plus an AI reading.
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