Chaos in Kinshasa

"Chaos in Kinshasa is one of my favorites. Partly it’s because I remember the whole Rumble in the Jungle story happening—I’m that old! I was in Philly, where I remember seeing Cassius Clay’s name, his switch to Muhammad Ali, and then he was going over there, to Kinshasa. Being Black in Africa is different from being Black in America—it’s not the same culture at all. I remember it was quite eye opening for a lot of people, whites and Blacks alike. And then to read this story! I never knew about all the political intrigue that was going on at the time and that it was a pawn in a political game. I was too young to get that—all the African politics, how Angola was involved. It’s amazing that these authors managed to get all that into this book and at the same time make it fun and funny. It’s really great. I totally recommend it. If you didn’t have any idea of the intrigue and politics behind the Rumble in the Jungle, you have to read this. Yes, it does. I just had no idea about all this intrigue—what the Belgians were up to in Africa, and then trying to get the French involved, and all this is happening with this boxing match with Muhammad Ali, who is so innocent about all this. I don’t know if he knew or didn’t know, all that was going on. I didn’t know. I thought it was just a boxing match."