Adam Hochschild's novel entitled The Ghost of King Leopold is a lost historical tale that begins in 1885 and continues into 1908 about Congo slavery. The book tells of a selfish king named Leopold and his quest to find rubber for the production of cars and bicycles, as the Congo Free State possessed the largest amount of wild rubber in the world. He was determined to bring as much rubber to Europe as possible and as quickly as possible. All this was done according to an elaborate scheme hidden behind a "charitable" image, deceiving many countries. The novel shows the themes of greed of colonialism, slavery and racism, the desire for fame and power, as well as moral responsibility and human rights. In King Leopold's Ghost, Hochschild teaches the lesson of standing up for what we believe. We cannot stand by and let corrupt behavior continue before our eyes. We must be strong enough and educated enough to protect what we know is right. Leopold was very astute in gaining and sustaining his control over the Congo. Leopold became obsessed with the idea of ​​how much profit the colonies could bring to Belgium. As Hochschild writes, “His drive toward the colonies, however, was shaped not just by a desire for money but for power” (39). This quote shows how much Leopold hated being a king of a monarchy where his powers were limited. He loved having absolute power over the Congo Henry Morton Stanley, British journalist and explorer of Central Africa, “Africa was an opportunity to gain upward mobility to wealth and glory” (63). King Leopold and his allies had great power over the Congo, which he soon exploited for its large supply of rubber. As it says in King Leopold's Ghost, “For Europe…… middle of paper……”. Although I think this is a very interesting topic, and it's really a shame that it's not a very well known story. It is obvious to me that Hochschild explored the issue at hand in depth and wanted to do his part to stand up and be heroic by writing this informative novel about the genocide. Works Cited Works Cited Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Boston: Mariner, 1999. Print.Kakutani, Michiko. "'King Leopold's Ghost': Spin-Control Genocide." Book of Times. New York Times. The New York Times Company, September 1, 1998. Web. February 20, 2014. Rapando Murunga, Godwin. "King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa." African Studies Quarterly: The Online Journal for African Studies 12th ser. 3.2 (nd): n. page Network. February 20. 2014.