Joy Lugunda

I think it is important to start this review saying that I am Congolese, and this book has been of great use when it came to understanding the history of where i come from. I am relatively young, so I haven't experienced either of the wars in any way, but felt the need to know this important part of my country's history. I think the book is very informative and takes many of the causes of the wars into account. The wars are very hard to understand, let alone write about, due to the fact that there are many countries and people involved and there doesn't seem to be a commonly agreed on cause that everyone is fighting for, everyone involved in the wars is fighting for a different reason, and this book takes this into consideration. I however didn't think that there was a sufficient use of Congolese perspectives and voices in the text, hence the four instead of the five stars.