FINALIST FOR THE CUNDILL PRIZE FOR HISTORY

'Not only deserves the description "epic", in its true sense, but the term "masterpiece" as well' Independent

This gripping epic tells the story of one of the world's most critical failed nation-states: 
the Democratic Republic of Congo. Interweaving his own family's history with the voices of a diverse range of 
individuals - charismatic dictators, feuding warlords, child soldiers, and many in the African diaspora of 
Europe and China - Van Reybrouck offers a deeply humane approach to political history, focusing squarely on the 
Congolese perspective and returning a nation's history to its people.