Spies in the Congo, Susan Williams
Spies in the Congo, Susan Williams
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Spies in the Congo
America's Atomic Mission in World War II

Author: Susan Williams

Narrator: Justine Eyre

Unabridged: 9 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 08/09/2016

Synopsis

The Shinkolobwe Mine in the Belgian Congo was described by a 1943 Manhattan Project intelligence report as the "most important deposit of uranium yet discovered in the world." So long as the U.S. remained in control of this mine and its supply, it had a world monopoly on the primary material needed to build an atomic bomb. The uranium from this mine was used to build the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Given the possibility that the Germans were also working on an atomic bomb, it was a priority for the U.S. to prevent Congo's uranium from being smuggled to Germany. This task was given to the newly created Office of Strategic Services, later known as the CIA.

Although much has been written about ALSOS, the secret intelligence mission created to investigate the German atomic project, so far nothing has been written about the intelligence mission at the source of uranium—the Belgian Congo. Spies in the Congo is based on a mass of newly released (and formerly top secret) archive material in the U.S., the U.K., and Belgium; personal testimonies; and a range of audio visual materials, including a set of eight mm films taken by the lead spy.

About Susan Williams

Susan Williams is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. Her research is archive based; her research has taken her to many countries in Africa, Europe, and North America. Susan served as historical adviser to the independent Hammarskjold Commission, which was founded in direct response to Susan's book Who Killed Hammarskjold?, and released its report at the Peace Palace in The Hague in September 2013. She has published widely on Africa, decolonization, and the global power shifts of the twentieth century, receiving widespread acclaim for Colour Bar, her book on the founding president of Botswana. Her other books include The People's King and Ladies of Influence, as well as edited volumes such as The Iconography of Independence: Freedoms at Midnight'.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Nate on November 04, 2016

Susan Williams did extensive research to bring a little-known part of history to light. While I applaud her scholarship, I found the narrative hard to follow. I was continually going to the index so I could go back and re-read about a person to remind me of his/her name and position, so a glossary/q......more

Goodreads review by Christopher on September 12, 2017

So I knew, from somewhere, that most of the uranium for the Manhattan Project came from the Belgian Congo. And I knew (from Girls of the Atomic City among other books) about the massive secrecy around every aspect of the Project. So I was interested in what sort of adventures there had been to secur......more

Goodreads review by Michael on September 01, 2016

I gave up halfway through. Though the content was interesting, the telling of the story was not. Each chapter was like a recitation of names, dates and facts, with little done to bring the characters off the page and almost no attempt at an enveloping narrative.......more

Goodreads review by Grant on June 10, 2023

Great look at the history of WWII uranium mining and the quest to keep it in Allied hands. Lots of characters, so I got easily lost, but still a good book.......more

Goodreads review by Kmjahraus on August 06, 2019

Interesting historical espionage story of a little known chapter of WWII, and the Manhattan Project's need to guard the mine supplying the essential rich uranium ore needed for the development of the atomic bomb. Listened to the audiobook version for background on some of the history of the colonial......more

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