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Dancing in the Glory of Monsters

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Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa
AuthorJason Stearns
PublisherPublicAffairs
Publication date
2011
ISBN978-1-58648-929-8
OCLC781709203

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa is a non-fiction book by American author Jason Stearns, published by PublicAffairs in 2011. It is about the First and Second Congo Wars, focusing especially on the role the Rwandan government played in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's internal affairs during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Reception

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Reviews for the book were generally positive.[1][2] In a The New York Times review, Adam Hochschild compared it favourably to other books about the conflict, describing it as "more lucid and accessible than its nearest competitor". He also noted that Stearns, while still critical of the Rwandan government's involvement in the Congo, was "easier" on the country than Stearns had been in his other works.[3] In African Affairs, Zach Warner is slightly more critical, describing the book's focus as "narrow". However, Warner also stated that the book was "accessible", and praised it for its ability to appeal to "non-specialists".[4] A review by Robert Guest, published in the Washington Post, described the book as a "tour de force". In particular, Guest noted the interview published in the book between Stearns and a Congolese officer who had been a member of a death squad.[5] The officer's death squad had been in charge of killing women and children.[3]

Awards

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Dancing in the Glory of Monsters won the silver medal in the 2012 Arthur Ross Book Awards.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Walle, Nicolas van de (2011-05-01). "Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa". Foreign Affairs. Vol. 90, no. 3. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  2. ^ Rogers, Douglas (2011-04-02). "The Triumph of Fear". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  3. ^ a b Hochschild, Adam (2011-04-01). "Explaining Congo's Endless Civil War". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  4. ^ Warner, Z. (2012-01-01). "Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa". African Affairs. 111 (442): 156–157. doi:10.1093/afraf/adr075. ISSN 0001-9909.
  5. ^ "Jason K. Stearns's "Dancing in the Glory of Monsters," on the Congo". Washington Post. 2023-05-21. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  6. ^ "Past Winners of the Arthur Ross Book Award". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
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