BOOK REVIEWS

|IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MR. KURTZ|

MICHELA WRONG

In The Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz, Michela Wrong traces the rise and fall of “the famous Leopard,” Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, for thirty-two years and became the stereotype of an African despot. Mobutu shows all the cunning of his namesake, Mr. Kurtz, from Joseph’s Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness. He seduces western powers, buys up the opposition, and dominates his people with a devastating combination of brutality and charm. And while the population is pauperized, he plunders the country’s copper and diamond resources from the comfort of his jungle palace. 

Engrossing, highly readable, and as funny as it is tragic, In The Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz assesses the acts of some of the villains and heroes in the fascinating history of the Democratic Republic of Congo.