Michela Wrong has worked as a foreign correspondent for Reuters, the BBC, and the Financial Times. She has written about Africa for Slate.com and is a frequent commentator on African affairs in the media. Her first book, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz, won the James Stern Silver Pen Award for Nonfiction. She lives in London.
"Wholly unsentimental ... Wrong gets it right ... [a] chillingly amusing cautionary tale." -- Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World"A riveting inspection of the legacy of European colonialism in Africa" -- A.L.A. Booklist"The beauty of this book is that it makes sense of chaos." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)"In lively prose ... Wrong combines travelogue with astute political analysis ... terrific." -- Library Journal Review"Provocative, touching, and sensitively written ... an eloquent, brilliantly researched account and a remarkably sympathetic study of a tragic land." -- Sunday Times
The beauty of this book is that it makes sense of chaos. For the past few decades, the Congo, one of Africa's richest countries in natural resources, has been in an economic decline that has resulted in violence and lawlessness. Wrong, a British journalist who spent six years covering Africa as a reporter for European news agencies, skillfully balances history with nuanced reportage. She details the "discovery" of the Congo by the British explorer Lord Stanley, the land's subsequent exploitation by the Belgian King Leopold II for his own personal benefit and the role of the United States and other Western nations in propping up Joseph Mobutu. Without apologizing for his brutal regime, Wrong explains how the cold war dictator used a mixture of terror and charisma to maintain his hold on the country for three decades. But although the roots of the country's downfall are traced to Western policies the book's title comes from Joseph Conrad's famous anticolonialist novel this book is no anti-imperialist screed. What Wrong finds is a widespread refusal, among Westerners and Congolese alike, to accept responsibility for the country's deterioration, which has led to a situation in which "each man's aim is to leave Congo, acquire qualifications and build a life somewhere else." And when Wrong uses her keen eye to describe contemporary life in Congo as in her portrayal of the handicapped businessmen's association the streets of this now-wretched nation come alive. Illus. (Apr. 29) Forecast: Wrong will come to the States to do a three-city tour: New York, D.C. and Boston. This fine book should benefit from being one of several books on Africa coming out, including Ryszard Kapuscinski's (see above) and Bill Berkeley's The Graves Are Not Yet Full (Forecasts, Mar. 26). Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
"Wholly unsentimental ... Wrong gets it right ... [a] chillingly amusing cautionary tale." -- Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World"A riveting inspection of the legacy of European colonialism in Africa" -- A.L.A. Booklist"The beauty of this book is that it makes sense of chaos." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)"In lively prose ... Wrong combines travelogue with astute political analysis ... terrific." -- Library Journal Review"Provocative, touching, and sensitively written ... an eloquent, brilliantly researched account and a remarkably sympathetic study of a tragic land." -- Sunday Times
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