"For five centuries, right up to the present, Americans and Europeans have benefited enormously from an astonishing history of exploitation of the people and natural resources of a country in the heart of Africa; the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The people of Congo are fighting back, risking their lives to resist and alter the deadly status quo. And human rights movements led by young people in the US and Europe are supporting those Congolese change-makers. As a result, the way the world deals with Congo is finally changing. Fidel Bafilemba, Ryan Gosling, and John Prendergast traveled to Congo in order to better understand that history and to document stories of Congolese upstanders who are building a better future for their country and young Congolese overcoming enormous odds just to go to school and care for their families. Through Gosling's photographs of Congolese daily life, Bafilemba's profiles of heroic Congolese activists, and Prendergast's narratives of the extraordinary history and evolving social movements that directly link Congo with the United States and Europe, Congo Stories provides windows into the people, the challenges, and the possibilities that are impacting the course of Congo's destiny."--Dust jacket.

Foreword / by Soraya Aziz Souleymane -- Why Congo? -- The story of the Kongo Kingdom : before and after the Europeans landed -- How Congo helped build America and Europe : following the money and greed for five centuries -- A den of highly armed thieves -- Africa's first World War : reverberations from Rwanda's genocide -- Road to Congo by Ryan Gosling -- Crimes against humanity : ground zero -- Life today in one part of Congo -- Congo responds to the onslaught : the whistle for change -- Davids and Goliaths : global rights activists vs. the war profitters -- Steve Jobs and conflict minerals : Apple and corporate-driven change -- War crimes shouldn't pay : lessons from Al Capone to al-Qaeda -- Vanquishing the vampires : what you can do -- Counting myths and stereotypes.