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Book cover of Revolusi

Revolusi

Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World

David van Reybrouck

23

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Coup de coeur
Coup de coeur (Asia), by Nicolas
On August 17 1945, barely out of the war, Indonesia the first colonised country to take this step proclaimed its independence. Present in the archipelago since the beginning of the 17th century, the Netherlands would not recognize it until December 27 1949. In a study as passionate as it is fascinating, David Van Reybrouck examines and restores the stages of this great human and political adventure. For him, it is a question of examining the events and struggles that led to independence while placing Indonesian history in an international context.

A story of staggering scope and drama, Revolusi is the masterful and definitive account of the epic revolution that sparked the decolonisation of the modern world.

'Astounding . . . history at its best' Yuval Noah Harari
'Utterly compelling . . . masterful' Financial Times *Summer Reads 2024*
'Superb' Guardian

*LONGLISTED FOR THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE 2024*

On a sunny Friday morning in August 1945, a handful of tired people raised a homemade cotton flag and on behalf of 68 million compatriots announced the birth of a new nation: Indonesia.

Four million civilians had died during the Japanese wartime occupation that ousted its Dutch colonial regime. Another 200,000 people would lose their lives in the astonishingly brutal conflict that ensued - as the Dutch used savage violence to reassert their control, and as Britain and America became embroiled in pacifying Indonesia's guerrilla war of resistance: the 'Revolusi'. It was not until December 1949 that the newly created United Nations finally brought the conflict an end - and with it, 350 years of colonial rule - setting a precedent that would reshape the world.

Drawing on hundreds of interviews and eye-witness testimonies, David Van Reybrouck turns this vast and complex story into an utterly gripping narrative that is alive with human detail at every turn. A landmark publication, Revolusi shows Indonesia's struggle for independence to be one of the defining dramas of the twentieth century.

'A magnificent fusion of oral history, sparkling analysis, and historical wisdom. Revolusi has it all: a masterpiece' SEBASTIAN MALLABY

'One of the most unlikely and astonishing sagas ... a towering achievement' THOMAS MEANEY

'A magisterial but gripping account of events of urgent importance to us now' JASON BURKE

'At once vast and intimate, a history in colour' LAKSMI PAMUNTJAK

'A masterly display of the historian’s craft' J M COETZEE

'A wonderful and important book' PETER FRANKOPAN

Translated by David McKay, David Colmer
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Binding: Paperback
Publication date: 08 Feb 2024
Dimensions: 153 x 234 x 51 mm
ISBN: 9781847927057