{"product_id":"hc-dj-3942","title":"King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild (Paperback)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eA National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist * A \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e Notable Book\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e In the late nineteenth century, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium carried out a brutal plundering of the territory surrounding the Congo River. In a horrifying episode of colonial exploitation, he ultimately slashed the area’s population by ten million yet still managed to shrewdly cultivate his reputation as a great humanitarian. A tale far richer than any novelist could invent, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eKing Leopold’s Ghost\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is the horrifying account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions—a dark chapter in African history. It is also the deeply moving portrait of those who defied Leopold: African rebel leaders who fought against hopeless odds and a brave handful of missionaries, travelers, and young idealists who went to Africa for work or adventure but unexpectedly found themselves witnesses to a holocaust and participants in the twentieth century’s first great human rights movement.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow did one man orchestrate a holocaust while cultivating a reputation as a great humanitarian, and who were the heroes that dared to fight back?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"a-unordered-list a-vertical\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eA Megalomaniacal King:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Discover the story of King Leopold II of Belgium, a ruler of monstrous greed who plundered the Congo, slashing its population by millions while living a life of luxury.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eThe Forgotten Holocaust:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Uncover a horrifying, state-sponsored campaign of terror and forced labor that stands as one of the great mass killings of recent history.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eThe First Human Rights Movement:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Meet the brave handful of missionaries, travelers, and African rebels who defied Leopold and gave birth to the twentieth century’s first great international human rights campaign.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eGripping Narrative History:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Praised as a work of history that reads like a novel, this meticulously researched account brings a dark, forgotten chapter of the past to vivid, unforgettable life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Friends of the St Mary's County Library","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67423863537913,"sku":"1159","price":3.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0475\/5806\/6334\/files\/102_0260_ce357473-49df-443b-9a63-58c9169a99bd.jpg?v=1792430055","url":"https:\/\/folstmarys.com\/products\/hc-dj-3942","provider":"Friends of the St Mary's County Library","version":"1.0","type":"link"}