Kirjahaku

From the beginnings of the slave trade through colonization, the struggle for independence, Mobutu's brutal three decades of rule, and the civil war that has raged from 1996 to the present day, Congo: The Epic History of a People traces the history of one of the most devastated nations in the world. Esteemed scholar David Van Reybrouck balances hundreds of interviews with a diverse range of Congolese with meticulous historical research to construct a multidimensional portrait of a nation and its people.Epic in scope yet eminently readable, both penetrating and deeply moving, Congo--a finalist for the Cundill Prize--takes a deeply humane approach to political history, focusing squarely on the Congolese perspective, and returns a nation's history to its people.

On a sunny Friday morning in August 1945, a handful of people raised a homemade cotton flag and, on behalf of 68 million compatriots, announced the birth of a new nation. With the fourth largest population in the world, inhabiting islands that span an eighth of the globe, Indonesia became the first country to rid itself of colonial rule after World War II.In this vivid history, renowned scholar and celebrated author of Congo David Van Reybrouck captures a period of extraordinary tumult and chaos to tell the story of Indonesia's momentous revolution, known as the "Revolusi." Encompassing several hundred years of history, he details the formation of the Dutch East Indies, the Japanese invasion that followed, and the young rebels who engaged in armed resistance once the occupation ended. British and Dutch troops were sent to restore order and keep peace, but instead ignited the first modern war of decolonization. America, too, became embroiled with the Indonesians' fierce struggle for freedom. That struggle inspired independence movements in Asia, Africa, and the Arab world, especially in the wake of Indonesia's monumental 1955 Bandung Conference, the first global conference without the West. The whole world had become involved in Revolusi, and the whole world was changed by it.Drawing on hundreds of interviews and eyewitness testimonies, David Van Reybrouck turns this vast and complex story into an utterly gripping narrative, written with remarkable historical clarity and filled with tragedy and passion. A landmark history, Revolusi cements Indonesia's struggle for independence as one of the defining dramas of the twentieth century and entirely reframes our understanding of post-colonialism.

On a sunny Friday morning in August 1945, a handful of people raised a homemade cotton flag and, on behalf of 68 million compatriots, announced the birth of a new nation. With the fourth largest population in the world, inhabiting islands that span an eighth of the globe, Indonesia became the first country to rid itself of colonial rule after World War II.In this vivid history, renowned scholar and celebrated author of Congo David Van Reybrouck captures a period of extraordinary tumult and chaos to tell the story of Indonesia's momentous revolution, known as the "Revolusi." Encompassing several hundred years of history, he details the formation of the Dutch East Indies, the Japanese invasion that followed, and the young rebels who engaged in armed resistance once the occupation ended. British and Dutch troops were sent to restore order and keep peace, but instead ignited the first modern war of decolonization. America, too, became embroiled with the Indonesians' fierce struggle for freedom. That struggle inspired independence movements in Asia, Africa, and the Arab world, especially in the wake of Indonesia's monumental 1955 Bandung Conference, the first global conference without the West. The whole world had become involved in Revolusi, and the whole world was changed by it.Drawing on hundreds of interviews and eyewitness testimonies, David Van Reybrouck turns this vast and complex story into an utterly gripping narrative, written with remarkable historical clarity and filled with tragedy and passion. A landmark history, Revolusi cements Indonesia's struggle for independence as one of the defining dramas of the twentieth century and entirely reframes our understanding of post-colonialism.

*Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2024* *Shortlisted for the Cundill Prize*A story of staggering scope and drama, Revolusi is the masterful and definitive account of the epic revolution that changed the course of the 20th century.'Astounding . . . history at its best' Yuval Noah Harari'Utterly compelling . . . astonishing' Financial Times'Superb' GuardianOn a sunny morning in August 1945, a handful of tired people raised a homemade cotton flag and announced the birth of a new nation: Indonesia. For three and a half centuries, its people had been subject to Dutch colonial rule. It would take another four years of guerrilla warfare and resistance – the ‘Revolusi’ – to finally win their freedom, blazing a trail that would reshape the world.Drawing on hundreds of interviews and eye-witness testimonies, David Van Reybrouck’s superbly woven narrative is alive with human detail at every turn, showing Indonesia’s struggle for independence to be one of the defining dramas of the twentieth century.*A Financial Times, Evening Standard, History Today and Prospect Best Book of the Year*‘A magnificent fusion of oral history, sparkling analysis and historical wisdom. Revolusi has it all: a masterpiece’ Sebastian Mallaby‘Masterly . . . compelling . . . convincingly argues that Indonesia in itself represents a global crossroads, one of the most important in modern history’ Elizabeth Pisani, The Times‘We learn something utterly fascinating on every single page’ Evening Standard, Books of the Year‘The story of [Indonesia’s] formation is delivered in a manner that genuinely seems unsurpassable’ History Today, Books of the Year‘Revolusi briskly ushers Indonesia onto the centre stage of modern history’ Pankaj Mishra‘With rare narrative brilliance, Revolusi gives us a history at once vast and intimate, a history in colour’ Laksmi Pamuntjak‘A magisterial and gripping account of events of urgent importance to us now’ Jason Burke‘A wonderful and important book’ Peter Frankopan‘Majestic and beautifully written’ Times Literary Supplement‘Immensely readable’ Adam Hochschild, Atlantic‘An electrifying narrative’ Tunku Varadarajan, Wall Street Journal‘The definitive account of a neglected epoch’ Economist‘Masterly’ J M Coetzee

Democracy is in bad health. This book offers a new diagnosis - and an ancient remedy. It shows that the original purpose of elections was to exclude the people from power by appointing an elite to govern over them. Based on studies and trials from around the globe, it presents the practical case for a true democracy - one that actually works.

**Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2024**A story of staggering scope and drama, Revolusi is the masterful and definitive account of the epic revolution that sparked the decolonisation of the modern world.'Astounding . . . history at its best' Yuval Noah Harari'Utterly compelling . . . astonishing' Financial Times'Superb' GuardianOn a sunny Friday morning in August 1945, a handful of tired people raised a homemade cotton flag and on behalf of 68 million compatriots announced the birth of a new nation: Indonesia.Four million civilians had died during the Japanese wartime occupation that ousted its Dutch colonial regime. Another 200,000 people would lose their lives in the astonishingly brutal conflict that ensued - as the Dutch used savage violence to reassert their control, and as Britain and America became embroiled in pacifying Indonesia's guerrilla war of resistance: the 'Revolusi'. It was not until December 1949 that the newly created United Nations finally brought the conflict to an end - and with it, 350 years of colonial rule - setting a precedent that would reshape the world.Drawing on hundreds of interviews and eye-witness testimonies, David Van Reybrouck turns this vast and complex story into an utterly gripping narrative that is alive with human detail at every turn. A landmark publication, Revolusi shows Indonesia's struggle for independence to be one of the defining dramas of the twentieth century.'A magnificent fusion of oral history, sparkling analysis, and historical wisdom. Revolusi has it all: a masterpiece' Sebastain Mallaby'A magisterial and gripping account of events of urgent importance to us now' Jason Burke'A wonderful book' Peter Frankopan'Masterly' J M Coetzee** Shortlisted for the Cundill Prize ** A Financial Times, Evening Standard, History Today and Prospect Best Book of 2024 **

Where do our images about early hominids come from? In this fascinating in-depth study, David Van Reybrouck demonstrates how input from ethnography and primatology has deeply influenced our visions about the past from the 19th century to this day – often far beyond the available evidence. Victorian scholars were keen to look at contemporary Australian and Tasmanian aboriginals to understand the enigmatic Neanderthal fossils. Likewise, today’s primatologists debate to what extent bonobos, baboons or chimps may be regarded as stand-ins for early human ancestors. The belief that the contemporary world provides ‘living links’ still goes strong. Such primate models, Van Reybrouck argues, continue the highly problematic ‘comparative method’ of the Victorian times. He goes on to show how the field of ethnoarchaeology has succeeded in circumventing the major pitfalls of such analogical reasoning.A truly interdisciplinary study, this work shows how scholars working in different fields can effectively improve their methods for interpreting the deep past by understanding the historical challenges of adjacent disciplines.Overviewing two centuries of intellectual debate in fields as diverse as archaeology, ethnography and primatology, Van Reybrouck’s book is one long plea for trying to understand the past on its own terms, rather than as facile projections from the present.David Van Reybrouck (Bruges, 1971) was trained as an archaeologist at the universities of Leuven, Cambridge and Leiden. Before becoming a highly successful literary author (The Plague, Mission, Congo…), he worked as a historian of ideas. For more than twelve years, he was co-editor of Archaeological Dialogues. In 2011-12, he held the prestigious Cleveringa Chair at the University of Leiden.

Where do our images about early hominids come from? In this fascinating in-depth study, David Van Reybrouck demonstrates how input from ethnography and primatology has deeply influenced our visions about the past from the 19th century to this day – often far beyond the available evidence. Victorian scholars were keen to look at contemporary Australian and Tasmanian aboriginals to understand the enigmatic Neanderthal fossils. Likewise, today’s primatologists debate to what extent bonobos, baboons or chimps may be regarded as stand-ins for early human ancestors. The belief that the contemporary world provides ‘living links’ still goes strong. Such primate models, Van Reybrouck argues, continue the highly problematic ‘comparative method’ of the Victorian times. He goes on to show how the field of ethnoarchaeology has succeeded in circumventing the major pitfalls of such analogical reasoning.A truly interdisciplinary study, this work shows how scholars working in different fields can effectively improve their methods for interpreting the deep past by understanding the historical challenges of adjacent disciplines.Overviewing two centuries of intellectual debate in fields as diverse as archaeology, ethnography and primatology, Van Reybrouck’s book is one long plea for trying to understand the past on its own terms, rather than as facile projections from the present.David Van Reybrouck (Bruges, 1971) was trained as an archaeologist at the universities of Leuven, Cambridge and Leiden. Before becoming a highly successful literary author (The Plague, Mission, Congo…), he worked as a historian of ideas. For more than twelve years, he was coeditor of Archaeological Dialogues. In 2011-12, he held the prestigious Cleveringa Chair at the University of Leiden.

"Mästerverk om indonesisk frigörelse"Svenska Dagbladet"Van Reybrouck skriver mästerligt om den nederländska koloniseringen, japanska ockupationen och hur Indonesien – världens fjärde folkrikaste stat – blev det första landet att utropa sin självständighet efter andra världskriget."ETC"Ett magnifikt verk om den indonesiska frigörelsekampen"Dagens Arena"I sin bok om den indonesiska kampen för självständighet lyckas han få de mest anmärkningsvärda vittnen att tala."De Volksrant"En enastående bedrift både vad gäller research och berättarkonst. Historia när den är som bäst."Yuval Harari"En efterlängtad och fullkomligt fängslande skildring av Indonesiens födelse... vecklar ut sig över en enorm geopolitisk duk och svajar aldrig... Den susar fram som en ångbåt på Javasjön, driven av berättelserna av dess häpnadsväckande huvudpersoner."Financial Times"Att berätta historien om denna plats är... en enorm uppgift som kräver en monumental insats. Detta är vad den belgiska historikern David Van Reybrouck har åstadkommit i sin lysande historia, Revolusi."The GuardianI fem år arbetade David Van Reybrouck på sitt monumentala verk Revolusi. Han intervjuade de sista levande vittnena till självständighetskampen på indonesiska äldreboenden, i japanska megastäder och på avlägsna öar.Van Reybrouck väver samman berättelserna till en gripande historia om den indonesiska självständighetskampen, som nådde sin höjdpunkt på 1940-talet. Revolusi, som revolutionen kom att kallas, har länge setts som en konflikt mellan kolonisatören Nederländerna och de koloniserade Ostindien. Men David Van Reybrouck är den förste att lösgöra kampen från det nationella perspektivet och visa dess betydelse som en central global händelse, som kom att få enorma återverkningar för hur världen ser ut idag.Indonesien var det första landet som förklarade sig självständigt, vilket kom att inspirera självständighetsrörelser i Asien, Afrika och arabvärlden, inte minst efter att det fria Indonesien organiserade Bandungkonferensen 1955, den första världskongressen utan väst.Revolusiär ett stycke lysande samtidshistoria som omdefinierar vår förståelse för vår tid.

Alankomaiden ja Itä-Intiaksi kutsutun saaristoryhmän välinen konflikti johti Indonesian itsenäisyystaisteluun 1940-luvulla. Indonesia oli ensimmäinen itsenäiseksi julistautunut siirtomaa toisen maailmansodan jälkeen. Kun Japanin miehitysvalta päättyi, alkoi kapinallisten taistelu brittiläisiä, australialaisia ja hollantilaisia joukkoja vastaan.Revolusi avaa kaoottisen ja monimutkaisen konfliktin taustoja ja kertoo, kuinka Indonesian tapahtumat inspiroivat itsenäisyysliikkeitä globaalisti niin Aasiassa, Afrikassa kuin arabimaissa.Flaamilaisen kirjailijan ja historiantutkijan David van Reybrouckin Revolusi liittää Indonesian dekolonisaation laajempaan perspektiiviin, osaksi maailmanhistoriaa.Kirja perustuu kirjallisuuden ja tutkimustyön lisäksi lukuisiin sodassa mukana olleiden haastatteluihin.Revolusin sivuilla kerrottu historia elää ja hengittää.