THE LUMUMBA PLOT, the secret history of the CIA and a Cold War assassination

618pp., illus., map, hardback, d.w., New York, 2023

''[The Lumumba Plot] is many things at once: a biography, a history of Congo’s chaotic independence, a dissection of the UN’s first big peacekeeping mission and a thriller about plots to kill Lumumba. There are villains of every stripe, from rogue Belgian pilots to shamelessly scheming UN officials and racist ambassadors. This is a tragic tale but also a rollicking read ... Lumumba’s life might seem of a distant, dramatic era. Yet this story feels timely.” The Economist

“This is the book we’ve needed for years: a thorough, judicious, eloquent account of one of the twentieth century’s pivotal moments. Patrice Lumumba’s murder was a tragedy not just for his young and troubled country but also for the way it stimulated Washington’s illusion that America could rearrange the world to its liking. Stuart Reid captures this ominous turning point with the clear-eyed wisdom it deserves.” Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa

Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was deposed in a coup in September 1960 and executed in January 1961.

Stuart A. Reid is an executive editor of Foreign Affairs. He has written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg Businessweek, Politico Magazine, Slate, and other publications. He lives in New Jersey