After having read Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives, I was very pleased to see that Siddharth Kara’s new book was available for After having read Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives, I was very pleased to see that Siddharth Kara’s new book was available for request at NetGalley. And I was doubly pleased to receive an ARC. As Kara states in his Acknowledgment section, after having researched on the ground, around the globe, for three consecutive books over several years on the subject of modern forms of slavery, the story of the Zorg offered him the opportunity for research in quieter library and museum settings throughout Britain and The Netherlands. He used the same meticulous methods I observed him using in Cobalt Red in this historical investigation.
The subtitle of this book tells the thesis, the story of Kara’s book. The Zorg is “a tale of greed and murder that inspired the abolition of slavery.” Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that but neither is it much more complex. The horrific tale of a slave ship by the name of The Zorg did, ultimately, influence the abolition of slavery in Britain.
As Kara does exceptionally well, he starts at the beginning, setting up the basic history of the Atlantic slave trade and all the parties to it. Then he develops the history of the various European nations involved, their colonies and those locations, setting up a background of markets and demand. Then he begins to populate this history with historical figures who manned ships from Liverpool to the British ports of Africa. And the stage is almost set. In the background, we learn of a nascent abolition movement in England. At this time (1770s) there is no overwhelming support beyond largely religious groups.
In a detailed recreation, Kara uses various types of sources to provide a history of the Middle Passage of one slave ship, the Zorg, mastered with incompetence, probable ill will and deadly result to more than 100 of the African men and women who had been taken to be sold as slaves. This story became the basis of court cases discussing issues of personhood vs livestock, ownership of human beings, etc. These issues would work their way through the English legal system and public opinion. The details are fascinating and should be of interest to many today.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an eARC of this book....more
Henry Morton Stanley’s stunt to become famous by finding Dr. Livingstone unleashed catastrophic consequences on the Congo that reverberate to this dayHenry Morton Stanley’s stunt to become famous by finding Dr. Livingstone unleashed catastrophic consequences on the Congo that reverberate to this day. He could not have known when he began his search what was to come, just as Livingstone could not have known that his discovery of quinine and explorations Of the African interior would help pave way for the European colonization of the continent. Nevertheless, by the time Stanley was bullying his way through the upper Congo and swindling natives of their territory on behalf of King Leopold, he surely had a sense of what was in store… Did he do it for the money? For fame? To please a king? In the end, the why has little meaning, only the consequences matter—a vile scramble for loot that continues to disfigure the Congo 140 years later… There is no way to calculate the toll taken on the people of the Congo since the time of Stanley’s newspaper stunt, and certainly not since Diego Cao first set anchor in Loango Bay in 1482. For centuries, slavery and violence have plagued the Congolese people, and the cobalt crush is the latest menace adding to their misery. (pp 234-235)
Cobalt Red by Siddharth Kara is a powerful document exposing the reality of the world that underpins our modern lives: the search for and mining of cobalt, the ore that supports our rechargeable lives. The largest deposit in the world is in Congo and its extraction continues the terrible tradition that has been present in this naturally blessed territory.
Kara traveled through the mining territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a pass procured from a government official. He had to hide much of his true purpose or he would have been prevented all access. Under the guise of observer and with the variable limits placed on his access at different settings, Kara was able to view several mines, conditions of the workers in most, and, in several situations, he was able to interview miners or family members without supervision. He had trusted guides and interpreters for virtually all of his travel.
What he learned made me angry and that anger is still with me. This industry that is enriching so many individuals and companies is literally killing and maiming people in Congo daily in mining disasters, disease secondary to pollution from the mining, lack of healthcare, miniscule wages. Even the supposed straight line in part of the industry from “good” corporate owners down to the workers is shown to be completely broken down. There is no “clean” supply that anyone can say their phone or car uses. The pledge of good practice is empty.
Kara does not offer answers but he has delineated the many problems that exist which points to areas that need to be addressed. They are many and huge: industry practices, DRC government practices and law, international law. This is a difficult book to read but important and I recommend it for those who want to know what powers the way we live, what the costs are…human, environmental, social….....more
The Beast in the Clouds is a very interesting and exciting story of the 1929 quest of Ted and Kermit Roosevelt to find the almost mythical creature ofThe Beast in the Clouds is a very interesting and exciting story of the 1929 quest of Ted and Kermit Roosevelt to find the almost mythical creature of China, the great panda. Both had experience as explorers and hunters in the past in Africa, and, perhaps most notably, Kermit on the nearly deadly expedition to the Amazon with his father, the former President. Now the father they both loved and admired was gone and they had their own goal to find an animal that no Westerner had ever seen.
Nathalia Holt combines biography, useful details of history of the countries involved (as well as provinces within China), culture of the various peoples the expedition encountered, and knowledge of nature and environment to enhance the story of the trek across China into the Himalayas, bordering Tibet. Excerpts from the brothers’ field notes are included as well as notes of other members of the group. The story and action moves briskly in a book that rewards readers with information and insights. This is a fascinating tale of a long ago world when much of the earth’s surface was still unknown and true exploration still existed with all its dangers and rewards. All of this in a relatively compact package for a history text.
Highly recommended for history and adventure lovers.
Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for an early copy of this book....more
I have heard about Samuel Pepys and his diary off and on for years and actually have Claire Tomalin’s biography of Pepys to read but haven’t yet read I have heard about Samuel Pepys and his diary off and on for years and actually have Claire Tomalin’s biography of Pepys to read but haven’t yet read any of the actual diary. When I saw The Strange History of Samuel Pepys’s Diary available at NetGalley, I just had to request it. And I got an early copy to read. As I’ve done with other highly detailed nonfiction books, I chose to read this slowly, the better to understand the chronology of the diary’s creation, Pepys’s life, and the many episodes involved in the publication of the diary to bring it to the public.
Pepys wrote his diary daily throughout the 1660s, documenting his activities related to his work with the naval department and also very detailed descriptions of his activities throughout the day…and night. He has become famous as a witness of both the plague and the Great Fire of London as he stayed in the city through both and documented what he experienced. He also became famous for the “naughty bits” which were largely hinted at in the first printing in 1825. He was an infamous womanizer. Pepys had used a personal shorthand to hide most of the details of his assignations. Of course, those who were rich enough to afford the full translation at the time did get a little more detail, details not felt right for average people of that time.
The publishing struggle over the past 200 years, since the first publication was attempted, has been which parts of this huge work to publish, what to do with the sections written in shorthand and how to treat those descriptions of his womanizing. While more recently, in the 1960s and 1970s, the concern was for dealing with obscenity laws, in the 19th century, the concern was for the possible corruption of the common man even without a full translation. Of course, most translations over those 200 years were too expensive for the common folk. But now it’s online! You can read daily installments.
This is more of an academic book than I had anticipated but was very interesting. I intend to continue my readings of Pepys and about him and his world. There are both footnotes and a bibliography provided. If you’re interested in the time, Pepys and/or London or England of the time, this book may well be of interest. It’s also an interesting look at the history of publishing.
Thanks to Cambridge University Press and NetGalley for an eARC of this book. This review reflects my views....more
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