In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz

Towards the end of Michela Wrong's highly readable debut, she quotes a military analyst wryly observing that so many mercenaries live to write their memoirs. The same could be said of foreign correspondents. Wrong separates herself from the hack pack by hitting the ground running, to apply a military metaphor, with her absorbing history of the country currently known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Colonised by King Leopold II of Belgium (the only European monarch to personally own an African country), durable foundations for kleptocratic rule paved the way for Mobutu's "authentic" Zaire, the Leopard following Leopold. Clad in his trademark leopardskin toque and Buddy Holly sunglasses (purest African dictator kitsch, thus the ironically tacky cover), Wrong uncovers all the qualities of an autocrat: formidable memory, demagogic charisma, chameleon-like pragmatism, and a disastrous disdain for economics. In one memorable incident, Mobutu agreed a price for a neo-classical French villa, before casually enquiring whether the currency was US dollars or Belgian francs--the 39-fold difference being of no consequence. Tales of hidden Mobutu fortunes are tantalising, but hide a more prosaic truth: the most significant legacy taken up by his rotund ouster, Laurent Kabila, is Mobutuism, exemplified by a strong security force, "divide and rule", and a strangulated economy.

Perhaps more modest of intent than Adam Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost,Wrong's account excels at scrutinising a nation as abundant as the mineral and ore deposits beneath its troubled soil. Gently drawing out testimonies from a former Belgian administrator, a former CIA man, ex-pats, Mobutu'sex-son-in-law, the disabled peddlers of Kinshasa, and the immaculately costumed sapeurs with their Lingala music, her sympathetic manner belies a keen intelligence and sensitivity to environment, whether it's Mama Yemo hospital, with guards to protect against non-paying patients escaping, or a terrifying White Elephant of a nuclear reactor. "In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz" teases out the nuances of a complicated, haunted country in a wonderfully clear, uncluttered manner, while remaining sympathetic to its entrancing, troubled rhythms. --David Vincent

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'In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz' by Michela Wrong, is a classic - Rated
This book should be on the reading list of anyone interested or concerned with the problems of African development (or the lack of it), from the most powerful to those who can only watch in near despair as so many of its countries sink further into the mire. Not only is it extremely well researched, it reads beautifully as a fascinating, truthful and illuminating personal account by someone who clearly loves the place and feels that its people deserve better. The high praise it has already received suggests that it could become a classic, and so it should. It is a shining contribution to a field that is at last beginning to grasp the fact that nothing is going to get better for Africa unless its problems, and the horrendous mistakes that have been made, are thoroughly understood and acknowledged, not just by outsiders, however well-meaning, but by Africans themselves.In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in the Congo
Also brilliant:The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It

Best book I have read for ages - Rated
This is a truly excellent book. I found the whole story of Mobutu and the Congo utterly compelling. Each chapter is a finely polished essay and there is none of the jarring repetition and clumsy use of language so common in journalism nowadays - I think the author may actually have read through what she had written. She even manages to make the sorry story funny - the chapter about Congo's nuclear reactor had me almost crying with laughter. Fascinating. I just wish she would write another book to explain the years since Mobutu's rule.

Excellent analysis and narrative - Rated
Michela Wrong has written a very good study of General Mobuto's place in Congolese/Zairois history. Her analysis is as good as that of Frederick Cooper in AFRICA SINCE 1940 and she writes as well as (if not better than) Bill Berkeley in THE GRAVES ARE NOT FULL YET. The mixture of good political reporting and the anecdotes of the impact events have on individuals reminds me of the sort of radio journalism in which Radio 4 specialised. Since Mobuto is generally portrayed as a complete rotter I found her closing section where she talks to one of his sons and to his ex-security adviser provided an excellent counter-point.

Beautifully written (and interesting) - Rated
An interesting and well treated story, but what makes me write a review here is the beauty of the sentences which Wrong produces. It's highly unusual in a non-fiction book to see such well crafted language, which simply adds to the enjoyment of a well told history.

Colonialism and it's aftermath - Rated
A Highly insightful investigation into the consequences of European colonialism at its most rampant, and a clear and well illustratted indictment of the world banking system as it continues to stumble clumsily for solutions in the heart of Africa. The book's focus is on Zaire / Congo and the consequences of two egos; Firstly King Leopold II of Belgium and secondly Mobuto, a former congolese army officer supported by the CIA in the 1960's, who until the end of the cold war was able to exploit at terrible cost to the population, the mineral wealth of the region. A fantastic book and deserves rightly to be considered a 'classic'. I would also recommend Leon Gast's documentary film "Muhammad Ali - When we were Kings" (another classic) which gives further context to the reign and power of Mobutu and the rightful backlash against the legacy of White colonialism.