King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa

History is haunted by the stories it tries to forget. While the world praised King Leopold II’s ‘civilizing mission,’ the Belgian king was secretly turning the Congo into a personal slave state. His vast fortune was built on a brutal rubber trade that led to the deaths of millions. Adam Hochschild’s masterful account resurrects this chilling history, revealing not only the depths of human greed but also the forgotten heroes who dared to fight a king and awaken the world's conscience.