Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World

A true masterpiece of narrative history and the definitive story of the revolution that ignited the end of colonialism worldwide
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.
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. With the fourth largest population in the world, inhabiting islands that span an eighth of the globe, Indonesia became the first colonised country to declare its independence after the Second World War.
Four million civilians had died during the wartime occupation by the Japanese that ousted the 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 the Allied troops of 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 forced The Netherlands to cede all sovereignty to Indonesia, finally ending 350 years of colonial rule and 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 and establishes its author as one of the most gifted narrative historians at work in any language today.

David Van Reybrouck is a non-fiction author, playwright and poet whose work focuses on colonialism, democracy, and populism. He is considered 'one of the leading intellectuals in Europe' (Der Tagesspiegel) and 'one of the most brilliant European intellectuals of the moment' (Le Soir). His book 'Congo: The Epic History of a People', won 20 prizes, sold over 500,000 copies and has been translated into a dozen languages. It was described as a 'masterpiece' by the Independent and 'magnificent' by The New York Times. He is also one of the most highly regarded literary and political writers of his generation, whose essay 'Against Elections' was translated in more than 20 languages and has led to trials in participatory democracy throughout The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and elsewhere. His plays 'Mission' and 'Para' have been performed across Europe. 'Zinc', his latest novel, won the European Book Prize 2017.