Dancing in the Glory of Monsters : The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa

“The best account [of the conflict in the Congo] so far .The task facing anyone who tries to tell this whole story is formidable, but Stearns by and large rises to it.” —**Adam Hochschild, __New York Times Book Review__** “[A] tour de force, though not for the squeamish.” —**__Washington Post__** “This is a serious book about the social and political forces behind one of the most violent clashes of modern times—as well as a damn good read.” —**__Economist__** “[P]erhaps the best account of the most recent conflict in the Congo.” —**__Foreign Policy__** “A serious, admirably balanced account of the crisis and the political and social forces behind it perhaps the most accessible, meticulously researched, and comprehensive overview of the Congo crisis yet.” —**__Financial Times__** This volume presents an account of the wars in the African nation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from 1996-2003. This conflict devastated the country and is sometimes referred to as the "African world war" because it involved nine African nations and twenty armed groups. Despite the signing of peace accords in 2003, fighting continued in the east of the country in 2007. There, the prevalence of rape and other sexual violence has been described as the worst in the world. The war is the world's deadliest conflict since the Chinese Civil War, killing 5.4 million people since 1998. More than 90% were not killed in combat, dying instead from malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition, aggravated by displaced populations living in unsanitary and over-crowded conditions that lacked access to shelter, water, food and medicine. Forty seven percent of those deaths were children under five. Until today the ongoing conflicts exacerbate the exhaustion of the country's great agricultural potential. Conflict for control of the mineral wealth is behind some of the most violent atrocities 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 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. - Publisher description A'meticulously researched and comprehensive'(Financial Times​) history of the devastating war in the heart of Africa's Congo, with first-hand accounts of the continent's worst conflict in modern times. At the heart of Africa is the Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, bordering nine other nations, that since 1996 has been wracked by a brutal war in which millions have died. In Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, renowned political activist and researcher Jason K. Stearns has written a compelling and deeply-reported narrative of how Congo became a failed state that collapsed into a war of retaliatory massacres. Stearns brilliantly describes the key perpetrators, many of whom he met personally, and highlights the nature of the political system that brought these people to power, as well as the moral decisions with which the war confronted them. Now updated with a new introduction, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters tells the full story of Africa's Great War.

“The best account [of the conflict in the Congo] so far .The task facing anyone who tries to tell this whole story is formidable, but Stearns by and large rises to it.” —Adam Hochschild, New York Times Book Review

“[A] tour de force, though not for the squeamish.” —Washington Post

“This is a serious book about the social and political forces behind one of the most violent clashes of modern times—as well as a damn good read.” —Economist

“[P]erhaps the best account of the most recent conflict in the Congo.” —Foreign Policy

“A serious, admirably balanced account of the crisis and the political and social forces behind it perhaps the most accessible, meticulously researched, and comprehensive overview of the Congo crisis yet.” —Financial Times

“The best account [of the conflict in the Congo] so far .The task facing anyone who tries to tell this whole story is formidable, but Stearns by and large rises to it.” — Adam Hochschild, New York Times Book Review “[A] tour de force, though not for the squeamish.” — Washington Post “This is a serious book about the social and political forces behind one of the most violent clashes of modern times—as well as a damn good read.” — Economist “[P]erhaps the best account of the most recent conflict in the Congo.” — Foreign Policy “A serious, admirably balanced account of the crisis and the political and social forces behind it perhaps the most accessible, meticulously researched, and comprehensive overview of the Congo crisis yet.” — Financial Times