Welcome to Litsy!

#readaroundtheworld #democraticrepublicofthecongo After reading my last Congo book I really wanted to learn more of the history of that region. This non-fiction well researched book provides great information about the atrocities the Belgian king and his henchmen visited upon the people of the Congo River watershed and the brave journalists and advocates who fought to make it known to the world. To paraphrase Kurtz: “the horror, the horror”

#scarathlon #photochallenge #ghost @Linsy

One of the most sobering but incredibly important books pertaining to ghosts. I honestly had no idea how evil Belgium used to be.

I finished listening to this while cleaning some snow off the concrete in front of the garage today. It was interesting but also incredibly sad and frustrating to learn about the Belgian colonization of the Congo. This book was first brought to my attention while reading The Poisonwood Bible and has now also made me more interested in reading Heart of Darkness.

#Nonfiction #audiobook

I wasn‘t in the right head space for this one, but it‘s a deeply important book about the legacy of colonialism. I honestly didn‘t know much about the Congo at all, let alone the face that around 10 million Congolese were killed while it was a colony of Belgium. A truly insightful exposition of a side of history that is brushed under the rug.

A simply sensational book, I am not usually an avid reader of non fiction but this one has gripped me. This book is a must read for anyone who has read Conrad‘s “Heart of Darkness” - this book provides a brilliant contextual explanation to Conrad‘s writing. Hochschild describes quite unbelievably how Leopold II managed to gain so much power across the Congo and what he did with that power is simply quite horrifying at times. Highly recommend it.

And this mornings other offer- good reviews and ready for my next NF fix. .

A truly brilliant book. This book contains very detailed accounts of the atrocities contained in the history of the Congo. A non-fiction book that will keep you hooked, if only in the hopes that good will defeat evil. Truly brilliant, terrifying and shocking, all in one.

I love reading about history, and know very little about these specific events. Really looking forward to reading this highly recommend book.

I‘m not a fan of vandalism but it is good to see people are waking up to King Leopold‘s crimes against humanity. @Cinfhen

Read in NPR: https://apple.news/An48fmTwjTlyrDATbee6ijQ

The deceit of King Leopold II of Belgium in regards to the colonization of the Congo is horrific & shocking. Convincing the world his intentions were humanitarian even though a few brave men tried to expose the truth. I‘m not sure if it‘s my ignorance or the world‘s approach to turning a blind eye that this genocide is somewhat unknown. Shame on the “civilized” countries of Europe & the United States that allowed this evil to flourish. 👇🏼

Wow! The life of an explorer is mind blowing 🤯I know I don‘t have the stamina for it but it‘s wonderful to read about. I‘m mesmerized #LiveAndLearn #ReadingEurope2020 #Belgium

I feel a bit torn. If I had read this when it was first published in the 90s I would have been amazed but now I have learned to expect more. I am surprised Hochschild did not feel the need to go to Congo to talk to people, funny how a book can be writing even critically using only white colonizers word, when we know that stories passed down orally are just as credible.
And the poor women. Sex slaves is the right term not concubines.

Just realizing that this author wrote a couple of history books I enjoyed or want to read.
KLG is going well, Hochschild does a great job of really laying out the good and bad of people and of pointing out where we are lacking in historical evidence.
Listening on audio while cross stitching, but also reading the physical copy.

#ReadingEurope2020 I can‘t recall who originally posted about this book but I‘ve just started and it‘s excellent so far 🤓#Belgium although the first 10% is heavily influenced by..... yup, Portugal 😂😂😂

Early morning shopping 🛒 #KindleDeals 💝Both of these NF reads sound awesome! And tagged book will be for #ReadingEurope2020 #Belgium shoutout to @Texreader for putting this book on my radar 🙌🏻🎉

A number of Littens put this book on their tbr list after my posts and review of it. So here‘s your chance to get the ebook on sale today! I still recommend it!

Countless (but not all, the author is careful to note) problems in the Congo can be traced to Belgian King Leopold‘s making it his own personal property to fund his massive building projects in Belgium. The horrors are unreal and the death toll of millions rivals the worst mass killings in history. A snapshot of the effect of foreign colonialism, by king or country. Excellent research, detailed, and well-told. #readingeurope2020 #Belgium

Some interesting author thoughts about some reasons problems still exist in the Congo. I agree that failure to treat women as equals is a huge problem based on my very limited knowledge of Africa, ie the Boko Haram‘s kidnapping of 270+ girls some years ago. I asked a humanitarian who has worked years there about how she‘s helped women there. It‘s a struggle because their communities won‘t welcome them back once they‘ve been “tainted.” 😢

My son just found this meme and came to show me how it related to this book. So I thought I‘d share. Yes, I talk about the book ad infinitum with him.

No country is innocent. I feel bad denouncing Belgium so much. This meme really should reference King Leopold but then I guess no one would know who that is. The last paragraph is called “The Great Forgetting.” That makes me nervous. If we can forget Leopold does that mean we can forget Hitler?

This was the fate of two Africans who wanted to testify against King Leopold. 😭

I‘m 50 pages from the end so this is a pre-review. This is definitely a #blameitonlitsy book I wouldn‘t have read but for #readingeurope2020. It isn‘t an easy book. It doesn‘t have a propulsive story like many nonfiction books I‘ve ready lately. It‘s dense, fact-filled, gruesome, slow. But it‘s a necessary read to understand better men like this king, who put self before the country he purportedly led. Look for my review to come.

Belgian King Leopold‘s downfall would be thanks to recordkeeping revealing the extent of his atrocities in the Congo, and hugely important, to one young man (ED Morel), a British clerk who became an investigative journalist, willing to print these most confidential of documents to show the world what was happening. I will say it until the day I die, true journalists are real heroes in this world—and why despots want to silence them.

“The thin-skinned Stanley was remarkably frank about his tendency to take any show of hostility as a deadly insult.” With little further thought (or any remorse afterward), he shot four of the African bystanders.

Interesting to learn about the “hero,” Henry Morton Stanley, who famously found David Livingstone, a quiet gentle man who probably would have been just as happy to have never been found.

Friday night plans.

It‘s time for this tome. #readingeurope #belgium #litsyatoz #letterK

From today‘s book haul. #readingeurope2020 #belgium

Ideas for #readingeurope2020 #belgium

King Leopold of Belgium was a monster. This is a very well written account of the massive abuse by Leopold in his quest for power and greed.... at the huge expense of the people of the Congo...still central themes in our lives today unfortunately. A tough read.. 4 1/2 ⭐️ Can I use this for #ReadingEurope2020 I wonder?? First book for 2020...I‘m off to a great start😊

First book for 2020 started. 60 pages in and my early prediction is this will be a top read. Non fiction but reads like a literary fiction. My reading challenge is to read 55 books this year. I‘m looking forward to another year sharing books and thoughts with you all. Thank you😘😘😘Stay cool and safe from fires my Aussie friends 🙏🏼☔️

I didn't know much at all about the Belgian Congo, and this book filled that gap. King Leopold of Belgian set up a private colony in the Congo for himself (not even for his country) and extracted rubber and millions of millions of $$$ while systematically destroying lives, cultures, and futures of the people who lived there. Horrific and under-publicized.

My biggest complaint was the lack of black voices in all of this. It might be due to the historical record, but the whole book was from a European perspective instead of Congolese who were tortured and exterminated. #audiobook

BOOK: King Leopold‘s Ghost by Adam Hochschild
AUTHOR: Barbara Kingsolver
MOVIE: Kissing Jessica Stein
FOOD: 🥝🥝🥝
#manicmonday #letterk

Reading books on historical events is not something that I am normally drawn to. That being said, the subject of this book sounded interesting, and thought I would try it. This book covers the raiding of the Congo in the 1800s. All this was done for both glory and profit by white men, led by King Leopold of Belgium. Hochschild does a good job in this book of telling the history in the form of a story, rather than just a list of dry facts.

I just finished Nisi Shawl's "Everfair", which takes place in a steampunk AU of the conflict in the Congo, and she praised this book highly in the author's acknowledgement. I know very little about the Belgian atrocities in the Congo, no more than anyone who read Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" in high school, but that little bit of background is preparing me for some very heavy history.

I'm not allowed to maintain a TBR stack. #outofcontrol

#Royals. This is a book about King Leopold II of Belgium and how his greed created genocidal misery in the Congo. A difficult read but anything Adam Hochschild writes is worth reading. @RealLifeReading

Monsters exist,” wrote Primo Levi of his experience at Auschwitz. “But they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are . . . the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.

This book is amazing. A really fascinating portrait of turn of tech century Congo. Spiller Alert: all that gruesome stuff in Heart of Darkness? It's all true.

When you interview for a job at bookstore, you know it's gonna get expensive. Fingers crossed, Littens!The BF's favorite book, autographed. He'll be so happy!

Have you read Heart of Darkness and wondered about the truth of the story? This book tells the that story. King Leopold of Belgium wished to be a player in European politics and in the 19th century this required an empire. Leopold found his empire in the Congo under the cover of charity and good

This is about the abuse of the native people of the Congo in order to profit from the rubber trees. It's very informative.