The real eye opener is “Dictatorland” (2018), with the subtitle The Men who Stole Africa, written by Paul Kenyon. He describes how the riches of several African states, be it gold, diamonds or oil, even cocoa and people, are being exploited by a few power brokers, who all collect an incredible amount of money, quite openly, quite shamelessly, whilst none of it gets back to the people and their country. This is the curse of much of Africa: where in other countries dictators or autocrats - think Putin or Erdogan - manage to enrich themselves and their families whilst they hold on to power, there is also a functioning economy going on, supported by the state. In Africa the dictators have absolutely no interest whatsoever in ploughing any money back into the country, they take it all for themselves. As I said, and eye opener, and a fascinating read. ( )

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book *

British journalist Paul Kenyon delivers a compelling slice of contemporary history in Dictatorland. The book looks at the men who led African nations out of colonial exploitation, only to betray their people and enrich themselves. The post-colonial history of countries such as Zimbabwe, Congo, Libya, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and Eritrea are covered, as well as the exploitation of various resources: diamonds, gold, oil, chocolate and slavery.

Kenyon's account of what these men did to their people is chilling and the sheer indifference of Western companies to the human suffering their business causes, to this very day, is horrifying. The rampant greed and savagery on display defies belief, and this is by no means in the past; it continues to this day.

If this book lacks anything, it would be the lack of a unifying theory underlying these horrible histories. Why is post-colonial Africa "Dictatorland"? Why have these savage dictators thrived in some African countries but in others, such as South Africa, similar experiences have not arisen, or at least not to the same degree. However this is still a first-rate piece of journalism and modern history, thoroughly worth the read. ( )

I had by coincidence been in Wigtown on 2/10/2019 when Paul Kenyon spoke about this book at the Wigtown Book Festival. (The talk was mediated by a journalist who steered the discussion; I much prefer an unmediated talk). This presentation focused on the extravagances of the African dictators more than the historical causes.
What a surprise then to read this excellent book. Simply put, it traces the devastation brought about by the fatal admixture of power and greed.
In each of the countries Kenyon examines, the pre-independence period of economic exploitation is introduced as a fore taste to the rapacity of the regimes that succeed colonization.

The harrowing history of the plunder of gold and diamonds in Congo and Zimbabwe, oil in Libya, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea and chocolate in Côte d'Ivoire is the subject. Mr. Kenyon deserves praise for succinct narrative in all these dreadful cases. The chocolate story is not a well known one yet it is fascinating because of the Cadbury connection when the tree was first introduced to Portuguese West Africa. The humanitarian model Quaker factory owner in England did not transfer his benison to the captured labourers from inland Angola who were enslaved on reaching the plantations.

The book ends with the chilling story of Eritrea. If you should want to read the saddest story in modern history, this is it.

Riveting, horrifying account of the rise and sometimes fall of the worst leaders in Africa, the dictators who took mostly newly independent countries and then bled them dry while simultaneously terrorizing any dissent with utter brutality. The usual suspects - Mugabe, Mobutu, Gaddafi are here, as well as lesser-known tyrants - Houphouet-Boigny of Cote d'Ivoire, Obiang of Equatorial Guinea, Abachi of Nigeria, and possibly the least-known of all, Isias Afwerki of Eritrea, who runs possibly the world's most secretive country, which makes North Korea look like a paragon of freedom and openness. Kenyon sheets home a large part of the blame to the West, whose desperation for oil, minerals and even cocoa led to corrupt deals which pumped billions into offshore accounts and turning a blind eye to the most heinous brutality. Kenyon makes free use of eyewitness testimony to the horrendous acts of the dictators, and the book pulls no punches in describing the worst acts. Its is not a comfortable book to read, but compelling, and leaves the reader pondering just what went wrong in Africa and how the consequences of decades of dictatorship can possibly be rectified. ( )