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Michela Wrong

Born

London, The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.michelawrong.com/intro.html

Twitter

michelawrong

Genre

Nonfiction, History, Politics

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Half-Italian, half-British, Michela Wrong was born in 1961. She grew up in London and took a degree in Philosophy and Social Sciences at Jesus College, Cambridge and a diploma in journalism at Cardiff.

She joined Reuters news agency in the early 1980s and was posted as a foreign correspondent to Italy, France and Ivory Coast. She became a freelance journalist in 1994, when she moved to then-Zaire and found herself covering both the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda and the final days of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko for the BBC and Reuters. She later moved to Kenya, where she spent four years covering east, west and central Africa for the Financial Times newspaper.

In 2000 she published her first book, "In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz", the story of M Half-Italian, half-British, Michela Wrong was born in 1961. She grew up in London and took a degree in Philosophy and Social Sciences at Jesus College, Cambridge and a diploma in journalism at Cardiff.

She joined Reuters news agency in the early 1980s and was posted as a foreign correspondent to Italy, France and Ivory Coast. She became a freelance journalist in 1994, when she moved to then-Zaire and found herself covering both the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda and the final days of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko for the BBC and Reuters. She later moved to Kenya, where she spent four years covering east, west and central Africa for the Financial Times newspaper.

In 2000 she published her first book, "In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz", the story of Mobutu's rise and fall, which won a PEN prize for non-fiction. Her second book, "I didn't do it for you", which focused on the little-written-about Red Sea nation of Eritrea, came out in 2005 and was hailed as a "gripping political thriller" by Monica Ali.

Her third book, published in February 2009, was "It's Our Turn to Eat", which tracks the story of Kenyan corruption whistleblower John Githongo, who sought refuge in her London flat. Boycotted by Nairobi bookshops terrified of being sued, it has become an underground bestseller in Kenya, distributed by local churches, radio stations and non-governmental groups and debated in town hall meetings. Described as reading "like a cross between Le Carre and Solzhenitsyn", it has triggered expressions of interest from US and South African film directors. It was named as one of the Economist's "best books of 2009" and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize.
Michela Wrong's non-fiction books on contemporary Africa aim to be accessible to both members of the general public and experts in the field. They have become a must-read for diplomats, aid officials, journalists and strategists based on the continent and regularly feature on the "required reading" lists of International Relations and African Studies courses at university. She was awarded the 2010 James Cameron prize for journalism "that combined moral vision and professional integrity

She currently lives in London and is regularly interviewed by the BBC, Al Jazeera and Reuters on her areas of expertise. She has published opinion pieces and book reviews in the Observer, Guardian, Financial Times, New Statesman, Spectator, Standpoint and Foreign Policy magazine, and travel pieces for Traveler Conde Nast. She speaks fluent Italian and French.

In 2014 she was appointed literary director of the Miles Morland Foundation, which funds a range of African literary festivals and a scholarship scheme for African writers. She is a trustee of the Africa Research Institute and an advisor to the Centre for Global Development. ...more

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Michela Wrong’s books

Average rating: 4.14 · 8,580 ratings · 738 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo 4.03 avg rating — 3,338 ratings — published 2000 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	It's Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle Blower 4.19 avg rating — 2,114 ratings — published 2009 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad 4.43 avg rating — 1,448 ratings — published 2021 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation – Italy, Britain, US, and Soviet Colonialism in Eritrea 4.14 avg rating — 1,431 ratings — published 2005 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Borderlines 3.67 avg rating — 243 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rwanda : Assassins sans frontières: Enquête sur le régime de Kagame - Essais - documents 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	It's Our Turn to Eat by Michela Wrong(1905-07-02) by Michela Wrong, Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Michela Wrong (?)

“You cannot have a society of angels except in heaven”
― Michela Wrong

tags: communism, crime

11 likes

“Experience has taught that politics is a game played by conmen and hypocrites.”
― Michela Wrong, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo

5 likes

“Spirituality can go hand-in-hand with ruthless single-mindedness when the individual is convinced his cause is just”
― Michela Wrong, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo

tags: human-nature, inquisition, middle-ages, religion

4 likes

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Polls

Which book on Africa would you like to read in Nov-Dec 2019?

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa by Jason Stearns

2 votes, 28.6%

Burkina Faso: A History of Power, Protest and Revolution by Ernest Harsch

2 votes, 28.6%

Explorers of the Nile: The Triumph and Tragedy of a Great Victorian Adventure by Tim Jeal

2 votes, 28.6%

Why Africa is Poor: And What Africans Can Do About It by Greg Mills

1 vote, 14.3%

African Economies and the Politics of Permanent Crisis, 1979-1999 by Nicolas Van de Walle

0 votes, 0.0%

First Raise A Flag: How South Sudan Won the Longest War but Lost the Peace by Peter Martell

0 votes, 0.0%

I Didn't Do It for You by Michela Wrong

0 votes, 0.0%

It's Our Turn to Eat by Michela Wrong

0 votes, 0.0%

7 total votes

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Reading with Style: FA 2014 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2014	1023	185	Nov 30, 2014 09:04PM
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Around the World ...: Ruth Frequent Flyer 2018	112	112	Nov 05, 2018 02:25PM
Club de lecture S...: Nov-Dec 2019: Africa nominations	8	5	Oct 30, 2019 11:16AM
Reading with Style: SP 22 Completed Tasks	934	78	May 31, 2022 09:01PM
Great African Reads: Jul-Aug-Sep 2022 \| Book selection: History of 1 country or region	8	24	Jul 09, 2022 02:10PM
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Michela Wrong’s Followers (259)

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