The Lumumba Plot

The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination

By: Stuart A. Reid

Narrated by: Michael Boatman

The New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • A spellbinding work of history that reads like a Cold War spy thriller—about the U.S.-sanctioned plot to assassinate the democratically elected leader of the newly independent Congo

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The Economist, Financial Times

“This is one of the best books I have read in years . . . gripping, full of colorful characters, and strange plot twists.” —Fareed Zakaria, CNN host

It was supposed to be a moment of great optimism, a cause for jubilation. The Congo was at last being set free from Belgium—one of seventeen countries to gain independence in 1960 from ruling European powers. At the helm as prime minister was charismatic nationalist Patrice Lumumba. Just days after the handover, however, the Congo’s new army mutinied, Belgian forces intervened, and Lumumba turned to the United Nations for help in saving his newborn nation from what the press was already calling “the Congo crisis.” Dag Hammarskjöld, the tidy Swede serving as UN secretary-general, quickly arranged the organization’s biggest peacekeeping mission in history. But chaos was still spreading. Frustrated with the fecklessness of the UN and spurned by the United States, Lumumba then approached the Soviets for help—an appeal that set off alarm bells at the CIA. To forestall the spread of Communism in Africa, the CIA sent word to its station chief in the Congo, Larry Devlin: Lumumba had to go.

Within a year, everything would unravel. The CIA plot to murder Lumumba would fizzle out, but he would be deposed in a CIA-backed coup, transferred to enemy territory in a CIA-approved operation, and shot dead by Congolese assassins. Hammarskjöld, too, would die, in a mysterious plane crash en route to negotiate a cease-fire with the Congo’s rebellious southeast. And a young, ambitious military officer named Joseph Mobutu, who had once sworn fealty to Lumumba, would seize power with U.S. help and misrule the country for more than three decades. For the Congolese people, the events of 1960–61 represented the opening chapter of a long horror story. For the U.S. government, however, they provided a playbook for future interventions.

Excellence

First-rate history, well organized, written like a thriller, and exceptionally well read. Bravo to the author and the performer.

Tragic, educational, and thorough

A very seemingly well told account of Lumumba's life. Even for myself as a Congolese born in the 90s and who mostly grew up outside of Congo, I learned so many nuances about this story. Particularly, the misconception that Lumumba was a communist. This book goes into careful depth in explaining all the factors and parties that were at play leading to the 1960 independence and the subsequent 12 months.

Final Clarity

This brings so much clarity to the issues that the Congo suffers to this day.

A must read for all!

A must read for those interested in colonial history

This book is truly remarkable as it reveals the various interests and anxieties related to the fight of African countries for their independence. It instill ongoing and hopefully, the future will look brighter for them. Self determination and fight against corruption will be key.

Fascinating from start to finish

This book is incredibly well written. I would highly recommend this to any other history junkies I knew nothing about the Congo before I started reading!