Dancing in the Glory of Monsters
The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa
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Narrated by:
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Mike Chamberlain
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By:
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Jason Stearns
About this listen
At the heart of Africa is Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, bordering nine other nations, that since 1996 has been wracked by a brutal and unstaunchable war in which millions have died. And yet, despite its epic proportions, it has received little sustained media attention.
In this deeply reported book, Jason K. Stearns vividly tells the story of this misunderstood conflict through the experiences of those who engineered and perpetrated it. He depicts village pastors who survived massacres, the child soldier assassin of President Kabila, a female Hutu activist who relives the hunting and methodical extermination of fellow refugees, and key architects of the war that became as great a disaster as - and was a direct consequence of - the genocide in neighboring Rwanda.
Through their stories, he tries to understand why such mass violence made sense, and why stability has been so elusive. Through their voices, and an astonishing wealth of knowledge and research, Stearns chronicles the political, social, and moral decay of the Congolese State.
©2011 Jason K. Stearns (P)2017 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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This is the harrowing but triumphant story of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, leader of the Liberian women's movement, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first democratically elected female president in African history.
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Enlightening
- By Jean on 04-28-17
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Inside ISIS
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Despite numerous warnings from intelligence services, ISIS' rise to power has left countries around the world floundering for solutions. Today we face a threat that is more violent, more powerful, and financially stronger than ever before. In this audiobook journalist Benjamin Hall will provide insights by answering the basic questions we still don't have the answers to: Who are they? Where did they come from? How are they so successful so quickly? How can they be stopped?
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Exciting yet profoundly sad
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Mao
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Based on a decade of research and on interviews with many of Mao's close circle in China who have never talked before, and with virtually everyone outside China who had significant dealings with him, this is the most authoritative biography of Mao ever written.
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Fills many gaps! Very good..but!
- By Jene on 08-07-06
By: Jung Chang, and others
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Black Flags
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In a thrilling dramatic narrative, awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, Joby Warrick traces how the strain of militant Islam behind ISIS first arose in a remote Jordanian prison and spread with the unwitting aid of two American presidents.
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So much learned
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The Lemon Tree
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In 1967, not long after the Six-Day War, three young Arab men ventured into the town of Ramle, in what is now Jewish Israel. They were cousins, on a pilgrimage to see their childhood homes; their families had been driven out of Palestine nearly 20 years earlier. One cousin had a door slammed in his face, and another found his old house had been converted into a school. But the third, Bashir Al-Khairi, was met at the door by a young woman called Dalia, who invited them in.
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Steeping The Lemon Tree
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Red Heat
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The Caribbean crises of the Cold War are revealed as never before in this riveting story of clashing ideologies, the rise of the politics of fear, the machinations of superpowers, and the daring of the brazen mavericks who took them on. The superpowers thought they could use Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic as puppets, but what neither bargained on was that their puppets would come to life.
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Interesting, not extraordinary.
- By History on 10-24-11
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Midnight's Furies
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Nobody expected the liberation of India and birth of Pakistan to be so bloody - it was supposed to be an answer to the dreams of Muslims and Hindus who had been ruled by the British for centuries. Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi's protégé and the political leader of India, believed that Indians were an inherently nonviolent, peaceful people. Pakistan's founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was a secular lawyer, not a firebrand.
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Amazingly detailed account of this tragedy i gigan
- By BG on 10-09-15
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The Prince of the Marshes
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Told from Stewart's distinctly Western perspective, The Prince of the Marshes chronicles his time acting as the deputy governor of two southern Iraqi provinces.
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A View From The Real Iraq
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No Good Men Among the Living
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In a breathtaking chronicle, acclaimed journalist Anand Gopal traces in vivid detail the lives of three Afghans caught in America's war on terror. He follows a Taliban commander who rises from scrawny teenager to leading insurgent, a U.S.-backed warlord who uses the American military to gain personal wealth and power, and a village housewife trapped between the two sides who discovers the devastating cost of neutrality.
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Outstanding book, remarkable narrator
- By captainramius on 04-05-19
By: Anand Gopal
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What listeners say about Dancing in the Glory of Monsters
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sean Grossnickle
- 01-25-23
A good summary of the Congo Wars
To me this was a good summary of the Congo Wars as one who came in knowing very little about them. It would be nice if it were updated to include the last decade of Congo history, it stops in October 2010. The story tries to capture the nuances of the wars and therefore is not super linear but I was still able to keep track of most things.
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- Kindle Customer
- 12-13-22
A tragic history largely ignored...
I'd read this book some years ago and was happy to have chance to listen to it via audio format. It is at once a highly informative and well researched book bringing to light a horrendous series of wars that swept the Congo and most of its neighbours in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide.
It's an incredibly dense book in some ways and it can be overwhelming at times. Particularly when the examples of the waves sadistic and senseless violence are continually piled up to the extent that you begin to wonder just how do human beings become so savage towards their fellow man....
For those who are new to the history of the Congo this is a decent place to start. Although a better first read/listen would be King Leopold's' Ghost which outlines the history of the Congo under the rule of the Belgian king and helps set the stage (somewhat) for the Congo of today.
The narration is ok but not great. Mike Chamberlain has a terse and somewhat monotone style that gives the feel of a military officer delivering an after-action report to headquarters. Fine for a 20 minute presentation. Not so good for a 15 hour book. That made the book a bit of a slog for me - and as mentioned I've already read the book before as well as some others about the Congo...
In either audiobook or print format I would listen to or read the last chapter first. It gives a very nice summary and will help frame the entire book for you.
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- Chris10587
- 06-13-21
This is an important book
this is an important topic to learn. the book was engaging, well written, smart, full of details but not oppressed by them.
this is something we must give more attention to. the author is a hero.
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- Jack
- 06-23-24
Very Informative
I started this book with next to no knowledge of the Congo, this book blew my hair back with all the information at times. The Author does an incredible job explaining that is no one true cause; Ruling Power, Multi-National Corporations, Warring Clans & Nations, the list goes on… I would highly recommend
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- Joel H Sanderson
- 06-18-19
valuable and informative
This is a book on a subject -Congo over the past 20+ years and the history leading to that era-that is hard to cover and hard to find honest information about. The book covers the Congo without trying to tell everything. It isn't a history book that distills a thousand narratives. it presents narratives from different sides, comes to some of its own conclusions, and let's the reader come to some. I find it valuable because it attempts to explain what happened with the Congo without making it about the West. The story is miraculously about the Congo and the Congolese and it's neighbors and for that it deserves credit.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Erick
- 01-23-18
Great analysis of events
I’ve been interested in the situation in Congo for quite some time. This story covers all the bases and does a great job of explaining this complex and delicate subject. I highly recommend to anyone.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Malcolm J. Heath
- 09-10-18
An excellent, challenging book
This book is great, excellent narration, recommend listening with a map of the Congo to guide you. The subject can become a bit overwhelming, due to the nature of the abuses, cruelty and the internationals communities willingness to turn a blind eye.
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2 people found this helpful
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- L Moses
- 07-10-19
Brilliantly and compassionately breaks down complexity
Stearns does not shy away from complexity, but provides context and linkages to aid us to better understanding of the Congo. For those who have little knowledge of the recent bloody history of this region, this is an excellent and comprehensive work. Dismantles the quick and easy explanations for the chaos.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Cthulhu's slobber
- 08-31-19
Fantastic book
More people should be informed about the history of the Congo. As the author states, it is complicated. Narrator did a great job with pronunciation.
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- robert
- 12-28-21
Excellent
This is a very clear account of a complex situation. No hyperbole, just plain facts. Narrator is excellent!
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