111 Days in Stanleyville

By David Reed

Book Overview

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' is the best known work of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), better known by his pen name, 'Lewis Carroll'. Telling the tale of a girl named Alice who falls down... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0000CMYHR
• Release Date: January 1966
• Publisher: London : Collins
• Length: 279 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Gripping Account of the Simba Uprising

This book, hard to find nowadays, was originally titled "111 Days in Stanleyville" and tells the story of European and American hostages held by Simbas, a secessionist movement which erupted in the Congo in 1964. The Simbas, who took over a good portion of the Congo, were African primitives who opposed the central government (then run by Tshombe, who was a former seccessionist himself) and who believed that the former leader of the Congo, Lumumba, would return from the dead and begin a new world. Simbas murdered their enemies in awful ways and in effect sacrificed opponents on Lumumbe monuments crowned with the murdered politician's photo. The 20th Century had left much of the Congo untouched and the Simbas were a superstitious lot whose beliefs would have been amusing if the results were not so horrible. The Simbas took westerners hostage (in contravention to international law) and threatened to murder them if their political demands were not met. U.S. Air Force transports were organized to deliver Belgium paratroopers to rescue the largest group of hostages in the western city of Stanleyville while simultaniously a column of government troops and mercenaries fought their way northwards to liberate the place. The first-hand accounts and harrowing experiences of all involved in thisstory makes for a great read.