King Leopold's Ghost

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild is the story of the Belgian Congo. In the second half of the 1800s, King Leopold of Belgium decided that Belgium needed colonies like other European countries had.


I have an impression of Belgium being a pretty forward thinking place, so the horrors that took place in the Congo under Belgians seem even worse than they already are. Experts estimate that 8-10 million natives died during the Belgian occupation. The Belgians were brutal. Leopold basically used slave labor to enrich himself while fooling the world into thinking his role in the Congo was a humanitarian one.

King Leopold's Ghost was pretty eye-opening. The Belgian Congo wasn't something I knew much about, though I know a little bit more about the region at a later date. It is the setting of The Poisonwood Bible, one of my favorite books. 

Another favorite of mine is The Heart of Darkness, which was written by Joseph Conrad who visited the area. If you've read it you might think that Conrad exaggerated how bad things were. Not really. There were Belgian soldiers with heads on spikes.

King Leopold's Ghost isn't one of those non-fiction books that I'd suggest to anyone. It's not that easy of a read , but it covers some really incredible stuff that you might not know.

Cry, the Beloved Country

Cry, the Beloved Country is so beautiful. I have had it on my shelf for a long time. I like reading about Africa so I knew I should read it, but kept not picking it up.

Luckily, I finally did. Cry, the Beloved Country is set in South Africa during the 1940s. At this time, society in South Africa was very unequal. Blacks in South African society had so little in comparison to whites.

Cry, the Beloved Country is about a young black man who kills a white husband and father in racially charged South Africa. The story follows the men's fathers in the aftermath of the crime.

Some might find the the moral of the story a bit heavy handed, but I thought it was beautiful.

The Poisonwood Bible

I had been told toread this book several (5!) years ago after seeing a movie about the ill-fated Lumumba and being interested in the history of the Congo during that period. For whatever reason, I never got around to it til a recent trip when I had to time to do some reading. Wow. I should have read this book years ago. The history is really interesting as the story of the Price family envelopes you. Any time a book gets you to feel so much emotion, its a good one. So if you've been like me, hav...more I first read The Poisonwood Bible back in 2007 .

This is my review from back then:

"I had been told to read this book several (5!) years ago after seeing a movie about the ill-fated Lumumba and being interested in the history of the Congo during that period. For whatever reason, I never got around to it til a recent trip when I had to time to do some reading. Wow. I should have read this book years ago. The history is really interesting as the story of the Price family envelopes you. Any time a book gets you to feel so much emotion, its a good one. So if you've been like me, having this book on your to-read list, get to it!"

I reread it recently and still loved it. It is one of my all time favorites.