Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild

6 reviews

ckiyoko's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

crybabybea's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

2.0

Had too much filler information for my taste, felt more like a biography than a history of Congo, which maybe I should have expected from the title. Very little of the book was dedicated to the Congo and its suffering under King Leopold's rule, instead we spent a lot of time talking about King Leopold and other important figures of the time and their backstories in an attempt to psychoanalyze them. Found it hard to follow as we jumped from figure to figure. I also felt it lacked an African/Congolese perspective which made it feel very white-centric and almost white savior-ish at times. The writing itself was incredibly dry and sprinkled with too many of the author's personal opinions.

The bits which did talk about Congo were informative and harrowing.

Groundbreaking for its time but I don't think it holds up well as a history of Congo.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

scarlettblythe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Essential reading for anyone wanting a primer on colonialism outside the English-speaking world. An enormous strength is the author's attempts to name and connect us to individual Congolese people and their stories wherever possible, while still focusing on the broader picture which, from the realities of the historical record, erases these individual people. Deftly connects King Leopold to colonialism throughout Europe and elucidates the differences without excusing atrocities by other powers. The conclusion weaves a strong nuanced connection from this history to Congo's history and present. Content warnings: there are photos which are graphic but due to time period they were taken, quite blurred. They are in easily discernable photo sections and can be skipped. Written descriptions are blunt, factual, statements of atrocities but not gratuitous or torture porn. Racial slurs are written as they were said at the time by the individual without censorship.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Trafficking, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

mondovertigo's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, and War

kvitlin's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, and Cannibalism

riverofpages's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War