To Katanga and Back

By Conor Cruise O'Brien

Book Overview

July 1960: The newly independent Congo is hit by the secession of its mineral rich-province Katanga, led by Moise Tshombe and backed by Belgium and Britain.

June 1961: Dr Conor Cruise O'Brien arrives in Katanga as Special Representative of United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, his task (under a UN resolution) to arrest and repatriate the mercenaries and foreign interests propping up Tshombe. The consequences of this mission will prove fateful for all parties.

This is the story of how a brilliant Irish diplomat found himself in Africa amid one of history's maelstroms. O'Brien reconstructs the complex, tragic, sometimes comic events of a drama in which he found himself controversially at centre stage. The result is history from the inside: a valuable study of 'the game of nations', and of the UN's unique functioning and malfunctioning.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0571282938
• ISBN13: 9780571282937
• Release Date: November 2011
• Publisher: Faber Finds
• Length: 390 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"