Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

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

16 reviews

mondovertigo's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

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

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

common_household_mom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Slavery, Violence, Genocide, and Racism

the_tridentarii's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Colonisation, and Genocide

Moderate: Homophobia

gnome_tomes's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, War, Body horror, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Genocide, Child death, Colonisation, Police brutality, Torture, Murder, and Sexual violence

alexijai98's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual violence, Suicide, Rape, Slavery, War, Colonisation, Confinement, Racism, Blood, Genocide, and Torture

demonxore's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

3.5

This book was a good introduction to the atrocities of colonial Congo, but I feel like it is incomplete with regard to how historical events set the stage for perpetuated strife in the region. The ending feels rushed and loosely strung together. Hopefully there is another book out there that picks up where this leaves off. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Child death, Death, Police brutality, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual violence, Violence, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Racism, and Racial slurs

kvitlin's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Cannibalism

samants's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

4.75

I was assigned to read this in high school, but skipped the assignment completely. I'm really glad I finally took the time to go back and read this -- it's a harrowing read, but a necessary one if you want to better understand how colonialism destroys cultures and lives.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Sexual violence, Slavery, Death, Murder, Racial slurs, Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia

rosemaryandrue's review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

At the end of the nineteenth century, King Leopold II of Belgium maneuvered his way into control of the Congo, destroying the region and its people in his quest to extract all and any profit he could from it.

I knew the story of Leopold and the Congo, but only its vague outlines. This book fills in the image in a horribly vivid fashion. Extensively researched and well-written, it made me queasy with the kinds of things people are able to do to each other, and depressed that I never really disbelieved that we were capable of it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, Genocide, and Violence

theblushbookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark informative slow-paced

3.5

I knew about the horrible atrocities done to the Congolese by King Leopold II’s regime from my AP World History course, but this book illustrated the horrors to an entirely new level. It’s a challenging read with many horrifying characters, but I appreciated the inclusion of change makers like George Washington Williams and the author’s acknowledgement that there are no easy answers in this tale of history and a large absence of Congolese voices. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, Gore, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Sexual violence