Book cover of Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives

Book description

Cobalt Red is the searing, first-ever expose of the immense toll taken on the people and environment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by cobalt mining, as told through the testimonies of the Congolese people themselves. Activist and researcher Siddharth Kara has traveled deep into cobalt territory to document…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Cobalt Red as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This a deeply important and difficult book. I have a special place in my heart for the history of the Congo, which was colonized brutally by Belgium and then exploited further by both Belgium and other western powers even once they "granted" independence. But I was not informed about the current realities of cobalt mining in Congo today - the very same cobalt that powers our batteries and is enabling me to write this review. If you want to know what's happening and what we can do to help the (largely children) in Congo who are being harmed by mining…

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Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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