White Malice - BookWyrm

eBook, 688 pages

English language

Published Aug. 10, 2021 by PublicAffairs.

ISBN:: 978-1-5417-6828-4

(1 review)

A revelatory history of how postcolonial African Independence movements were systematically undermined by one nation above all: the US.

In 1958 in Accra, Ghana, the Hands Off Africa conference brought together the leading figures of African independence in a public show of political strength and purpose. Led by the charismatic Kwame Nkrumah, who had just won Ghana’s independence, his determined call for Pan-Africanism was heeded by young, idealistic leaders across the continent and by African Americans seeking civil rights at home. Yet, a moment that signified a new era of African freedom simultaneously marked a new era of foreign intervention and control.

In White Malice, Susan Williams unearths the covert operations pursued by the CIA from Ghana to the Congo to the UN in an effort to frustrate and deny Africa’s new generation of nationalist leaders. This dramatically upends the conventional belief that the African nations failed to establish effective, …

A revelatory history of how postcolonial African Independence movements were systematically undermined by one nation above all: the US.

In 1958 in Accra, Ghana, the Hands Off Africa conference brought together the leading figures of African independence in a public show of political strength and purpose. Led by the charismatic Kwame Nkrumah, who had just won Ghana’s independence, his determined call for Pan-Africanism was heeded by young, idealistic leaders across the continent and by African Americans seeking civil rights at home. Yet, a moment that signified a new era of African freedom simultaneously marked a new era of foreign intervention and control.

In White Malice, Susan Williams unearths the covert operations pursued by the CIA from Ghana to the Congo to the UN in an effort to frustrate and deny Africa’s new generation of nationalist leaders. This dramatically upends the conventional belief that the African nations failed to establish effective, democratic states on their own accord. As the old European powers moved out, the US moved in.

Drawing on original research, recently declassified documents, and told through an engaging narrative, Williams introduces readers to idealistic African leaders and to the secret agents, ambassadors, and even presidents who deliberately worked against them, forever altering the future of a continent.

1 edition

subcutaneous reviewed White Malice by Susan Williams

Well-sourced & thorough in the places it covers

4 stars

If you are expecting an overview of CIA activity across the continent, the title's a little misleading as it focuses largely on the Congo (DRC, though it covers some important things in Congo-Brazzaville as well) & Ghana. However, those two countries were very important for the overall continental situation & so many interesting connections are made to other places.

With that caveat, the book is quite thorough & does what it aims to do. It gives background as to what evil shit the CIA was up to, why, & how they did it. There are lots & lots of notes explaining where things come from & clear distinctions are made between stuff that was definitely the CIA, stuff that was probably them, & stuff that wasn't. It rather neatly lays out the Cold War context without—as the CIA did—trying to use it to explain everything. It distinguishes carefully between people …

If you are expecting an overview of CIA activity across the continent, the title's a little misleading as it focuses largely on the Congo (DRC, though it covers some important things in Congo-Brazzaville as well) & Ghana. However, those two countries were very important for the overall continental situation & so many interesting connections are made to other places.

With that caveat, the book is quite thorough & does what it aims to do. It gives background as to what evil shit the CIA was up to, why, & how they did it. There are lots & lots of notes explaining where things come from & clear distinctions are made between stuff that was definitely the CIA, stuff that was probably them, & stuff that wasn't. It rather neatly lays out the Cold War context without—as the CIA did—trying to use it to explain everything. It distinguishes carefully between people who knowingly collaborated with the CIA & those who ended up being its unwitting accomplices, & it summarizes & compiles lots of useful information that's trickled out in scandalous-sounding headlines over the years. A useful reference work even if you don't have the patience or interest to read it cover to cover. Also, lots of interesting photos.