A story of grim comedy amid the apocalypse and a celebration of the sheer indestructibility of the human spirit in a nation run riot: Michela Wrong’s vision of Congo/Zaire during the Mobutu years is incisive, ironic and revelatory.
Mr Kurtz, the colonial white master, brought evil to the remote upper reaches of the Congo River. A century after Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ was first published, Michela Wrong revisits the Congo during the turbulent era of Mobutu Sese Seko.
From the heart of Africa comes grotesque confusion: pink-lipsticked rebel soldiers mingle with track-suited secret policemen in hotels where fin de siecle dinner parties are ploughing through vintage wines rather than leave them to the new regime. Congo, the African country richest in natural resources, has institutionalised kleptomania. Everyone is on the take. Someone has even swiped one of the uranium rods from the country’s only nuclear reactor.
Having presided over unprecedented looting of the country’s wealth, Mobutu, like Kurtz, retreated deep within the jungle to his palace of marble floors and gold taps. A hundred years on and nothing has changed.
Le informazioni nella sezione "Riassunto" possono far riferimento a edizioni diverse di questo titolo.
‘A stylish account of the absurd as well as the tragic.’ Sunday Times
‘This book will become a classic.’ Economist
Michela Wrong has been a foreign correspondent since joining Reuters after University and has worked extensively in Africa for the BBC and has also worked for the Sunday Times. She now writes for the Financial Times.
Le informazioni nella sezione "Su questo libro" possono far riferimento a edizioni diverse di questo titolo.
Spese di spedizione:
EUR 2,44
In U.S.A.
Descrizione libro Condizione: New. Codice articolo 1472237-n
Descrizione libro Soft Cover. Condizione: new. Codice articolo 9781841154220
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: new. Paperback. Joyous a book that makes other journalists weep with envy The Economist'Provocative, touching, and sensitively written an eloquent, brilliantly researched account Sunday TimesOne of The Economists best books by foreign correspondents. A story of grim comedy amid the apocalypse and a celebration of the sheer indestructibility of the human spirit in a nation run riot: Michela Wrongs vision of Congo/Zaire during the Mobutu years is incisive, ironic and revelatory.Mr Kurtz, the colonial white master, brought evil to the remote upper reaches of the Congo River. A century after Conrads 'Heart of Darkness' was first published, Michela Wrong revisits the Congo as the era of Mobutu Sese Seko collapses into absurdity, anarchy and corruption. Hers is a brilliant portrait of the grotesque as confusion takes over: pink lipsticked rebel soldiers mingle with tracksuited secret policemen in hotels where fin de siecle dinner parties are ploughing through hotel wine cellars rather than see bottles lost to the new regime.Congo, Africas richest country in terms of its natural resources, has institutionalised kleptomania: everyone is on the take. In a country where the minimum wage has dropped to below $150 a year, the government over twenty-five years spent $250 million providing courtesy cars. Congo has a vanity nuclear reactor built on a subsiding slope and one of its uranium rods is missingThe Mobutu reign, successor to Belgiums failed imperial experiment in Africa, was fed by World Bank dollars and IMF loans. Having presided over unprecedented looting of the countrys wealth, Mobutu, like Kurtz, retreated deep within the jungle to his absurdly overwrought palace of marble floors and gold taps. A century on, nothing seems to have changed at the heart of Africa: it is lawless, graceless and it slaughters its own. A story of comedy amid the apocalypse and a celebration of the sheer indestructibility of the human spirit in a nation run riot: Michela Wrong's vision of Congo/Zaire during the Mobutu years is incisive, ironic and revelatory. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Codice articolo 9781841154220
Descrizione libro paperback. Condizione: New. Language: ENG. Codice articolo 9781841154220
Descrizione libro Paperback / softback. Condizione: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. A story of grim comedy amid the apocalypse and a celebration of the sheer indestructibility of the human spirit in a nation run riot: Michela Wrong's vision of Congo/Zaire during the Mobutu years is incisive, ironic and revelatory. Codice articolo B9781841154220
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: New. BRAND NEW ** SUPER FAST SHIPPING FROM UK WAREHOUSE ** 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. Codice articolo 9781841154220-GDR
Descrizione libro Condizione: New. In. Codice articolo ria9781841154220_new
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: Brand New. 334 pages. 7.64x5.04x1.02 inches. In Stock. Codice articolo __1841154229
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: New. ALL ITEMS ARE DISPATCHED FROM THE UK WITHIN 48 HOURS ( BOOKS ORDERED OVER THE WEEKEND DISPATCHED ON MONDAY) ALL OVERSEAS ORDERS SENT BY TRACKABLE AIR MAIL. IF YOU ARE LOCATED OUTSIDE THE UK PLEASE ASK US FOR A POSTAGE QUOTE FOR MULTI VOLUME SETS BEFORE ORDERING. Codice articolo mon0000933583
Descrizione libro Condizione: New. Book is in NEW condition. 0.57. Codice articolo 1841154229-2-1