This is an immensely readable, radical introduction to the Congo that pays attention to the importance of economic production for social organization. It traces the story of the Congo from the unleashing of King Leopard's fury across the region in the 19th century, to the Western-sponsored murder of Patrice Lumumba in 1961, to the war that has ravaged the country since 1997. The authors argue that the nature of global capitalism has led to the expansion of private capital accompanied by social collapse. As for the future, the hope is that another politics will emerge from the resistance of ordinary Congolese to imperialist slaughter and the post-independence Mobutu dictatorship.