At the heart of Africa is Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, bordering nine other nations, that since 1996 has been wracked by a brutal and unstaunchable war in which millions have died. And yet, despite its epic proportions, it has received little sustained media attention. In this deeply reported book, Jason Stearns tells the story of this misunderstood conflict through the experiences of those who engineered and perpetrated it. He depicts village pastors who survived massacres, the child soldier assassin of President Kabila, a female Hutu activist who relives the hunting and methodical extermination of fellow refugees, and key architects of the war that became as great a disaster as- and was a direct consequence of - the genocide in neighboring Rwanda. Through their stories, he tries to understand why such mass violence made sense, and why stability has been so elusive. Through their voices, and a wealth of knowledge and research, Stearns chronicles the political, social, and moral decay of the Congolese State. - Publisher description.

Includes maps of: Routes of the AFDL/Rwandan Army into Kivus in 1996; Attack Routes of the AFDL and Its Allies across Zaire in 1996-1997; Paths Taken by Rwandan Refugees across Zaire in 1996-1997; Partition of the Congo by Armed Groups at the Time of Peace Talks in 2002; Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Understanding the violence -- Prewar. The legacy of genocide ; Aiding and abetting ; A country in ruins ; Six days ; Onion layers ; Mzee -- The first war. Many wars in one ; The dominoes fall ; A thousand miles through the jungle ; This is how you fight ; A wounded leopard ; The King is Dead, long live the King -- The second war. One war too many ; The rebel professor ; The rebel start-up ; Cain and Abel ; Sorcerers' apprentices ; The assassination of Mzee ; Paying for the war -- Neither war nor peace. The bearer of eggs -- The Congo, on its own terms.