The Looting Machine: Warlords, Tycoons, Smugglers and the Systematic Theft of Africa’s Wealth
Written by Tom Burgis
Narrated by Dugald Bruce-Lockhart
4/5
()
Unavailable in your country
Unavailable in your country
About this audiobook
Overseas Press Club Award Winner 2016
A shocking investigative journey into the way the resource trade wreaks havoc on Africa, ‘The Looting Machine’ explores the dark underbelly of the global economy.
Africa: the world’s poorest continent and, arguably, its richest. While accounting for just 2 percent of global GDP, it is home to 15 per cent of the planet’s crude oil, 40 per cent of its gold and 80 per cent of its platinum. A third of the earth’s mineral deposits lie beneath its soil. But far from being a salvation, this buried treasure has been a curse.
‘The Looting Machine’ takes you on a gripping and shocking journey through anonymous boardrooms and glittering headquarters to expose a new form of financialized colonialism. Africa’s booming growth is driven by the voracious hunger for natural resources from rapidly emerging economics such as China. But in the shadows a network of traders, bankers and corporate raiders has sprung up to grease the palms of venal local political elites. What is happening in Africa’s resource states is systematic looting. In country after country across the continent, the resource industry is tearing at the very fabric of society. But, like its victims, the beneficiaries of this looting machine have names.
For six years Tom Burgis has been on a mission to expose corruption and give voice to the millions of Africans who suffer the consequences of living under this curse. Combining deep reporting with an action-packed narrative, he travels to the heart of Africa’s resource states, meeting a warlord in Nigeria’s oil-soaked Niger Delta and crossing a warzone to reach a remote mineral mine in eastern Congo. The result is a blistering investigation that throws a completely fresh light on the workings of the global economy and will make you think twice about what goes into the mobile phone in your pocket and the tank of your car.
Tom Burgis
Tom Burgis is an investigations correspondent at the Financial Times. He has reported from more than forty countries, won major journalism awards in the US and Asia and been shortlisted for eight others, including twice at the British Press Awards. His critically acclaimed book The Looting Machine, about the modern plundering of Africa, won an Overseas Press Club of America award.
More audiobooks from Tom Burgis
Kleptopia: How Dirty Money Is Conquering the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Looting Machine: Warlords, Oligarchs, Corporations, Smugglers, and the Theft of Africa's Wealth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cuckooland: Where the Rich Own the Truth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Looting Machine
Related audiobooks
The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Next Factory of the World: How Chinese Investment Is Reshaping Africa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Africa's Business Revolution: How to Succeed in the World's Next Big Growth Market Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Success in Africa: CEO Insights from a Continent on the Rise Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Patrice Lumumba: The Life and Legacy of the Pan-African Politician Who Became Congo's First Prime Minister Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Democracy and Delusion: 10 Myths in South African Politics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe ANC Billionaires: Big Capital's Gambit and the Rise of the Few Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The New Apartheid Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Crude Intentions: How Oil Corruption Contaminates The World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBehind Enemy Lines and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man Who Created the Middle East: A Story of Empire, Conflict and the Sykes-Picot Agreement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Europe Underdeveloped Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Earth Sciences For You
Forces of Nature Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Into the Storm: Violent Tornadoes, Killer Hurricanes, and Death-defying Adventures in Extreme Weather Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When Humans Nearly Vanished: The Catastrophic Explosion of the Toba Volcano Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Man Who Caught the Storm: The Life of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Salt: A World History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cascadia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Iwígara: American Indian Ethnobotanical Traditions and Science Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alien Oceans: The Search for Life in the Depths of Space Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Assembling California Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Norwegian Wood: Chopping, Stacking, and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Stands in a Storm: Three Days in the Worst Superstorm to Hit the South's Tornado Alley Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cosmos: A Personal Voyage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Young Men and Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Socialism: Utopian and Scientific Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Underland: A Deep Time Journey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Deluge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Earth Prescription: Discover the Healing Power of Nature with Grounding Practices for Every Season Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Children's Blizzard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fire on the Mountain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Krakatoa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Looting Machine
31 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Really interesting book, what an eye opener on how funds are looted in Africa when it comes to minerals and Oil
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Keeping journalism alive, this a well researched and well written account of how extraction industry is enabling corrupt regimes to thrive in Africa.