In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz - Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo

He was known as "the Leopard," and for the thirty-two years of his reign Mobutu Sese Seko, president of Zaire, showed all the cunning of his namesake, seducing Western powers, buying up the opposition, and dominating his people with a devastating combination of brutality and charm. While the population was pauperized, he plundered the country's copper and diamond resources, downing pink champagne in his jungle palace like some modern-day reincarnation of Joseph Conrad's crazed station manager. Michela Wrong, a correspondent who witnessed firsthand Mobutu's last days, traces the rise and fall of the idealistic young journalist who became the stereotype of an African despot. Engrossing, highly readable, and as funny as it is tragic, her book assesses how Belgium's King Leopold, the CIA, and the World Bank all helped to bring about the disaster that is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. If, in this poignant account, the villains are the "Big Vegetables" (les Grosses légumes) -- the fat cats who benefited from Mobutu's largesse -- the heroes are the ordinary citizens trapped in a parody of a state. Living in the shadow of a disintegrating nuclear reactor, where banknotes are not worth the paper they are printed on, they have turned survival into an art form. For all its valuable insights into Africa's colonial heritage and the damage done by Western intervention, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz is ultimately a celebration of the irrepressible human spirit.

Known as "the Leopard, " the president of Zaire for thirty-two years, Mobutu Sese Seko, showed all the cunning of his namesake -- seducing Western powers, buying up the opposition, and dominating his people with a devastating combination of brutality and charm. While the population was pauperized, he plundered the country's copper and diamond resources, downing pink champagne in his jungle palace like some modern-day reincarnation of Joseph Conrad's crazed station manager.

Michela Wrong, a correspondent who witnessed Mobutu's last days, traces the rise and fall of the idealistic young journalist who became the stereotype of an African despot. Engrossing, highly readable, and as funny as it is tragic, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz assesses the acts of the villains and the heroes in this fascinating story of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Known as "the Leopard," the president of Zaire for thirty-two years, Mobutu Sese Seko, showed all the cunning of his namesake — seducing Western powers, buying up the opposition, and dominating his people with a devastating combination of brutality and charm. While the population was pauperized, he plundered the country's copper and diamond resources, downing pink champagne in his jungle palace like some modern-day reincarnation of Joseph Conrad's crazed station manager. Michela Wrong, a correspondent who witnessed Mobutu's last days, traces the rise and fall of the idealistic young journalist who became the stereotype of an African despot. Engrossing, highly readable, and as funny as it is tragic, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz assesses the acts of the villains and the heroes in this fascinating story of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Wrong Looks At How Dictator Mobutu Sese Seko's Corrupt Rule Bankrupted His Country. You Can Check Out Any Time You Like, But You Can Never Leave -- Plaything For A King -- Birth Of Leopard -- Dizzy Worms -- Living Above The Shop -- A Nation On Low Batt -- Never Naked -- The Importance Of Being Elegant -- I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends -- A Folly In The Jungle -- The Night The Pink Champagne Went Flat -- The Inseparable Four -- Nappies On The Floor -- Ill-gotten Gains. Michela Wrong. Originally Published In 2000 In Great Britain By Fourth Estate Limited--t.p. Verso. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [325]-327) And Index. Mr Kurtz, the colonial white master, brought evil to the remote reaches of the Congo River. A century after "Heart of Darkness" was published, the author revisits the Congo as the era of Mobutu Sese Seko collapses into anarchy. Here is a portrait of the grotesque as the confusion takes over 'Joyous ... a book that makes other journalists weep with envy' The Economist 'Provocative, touching, and sensitively written ... an eloquent, brilliantly researched account' Sunday Times One of The Economist's best books by foreign correspondents. A story of grim comedy amid the apocalypse and a celebration of the sheer indestructibility of the human spirit in a nation run riot: Michela Wrong's vision of Congo/Zaire during the Mobutu years is incisive, ironic and revelatory.