Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World

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. 'Astounding . . . history at its best' YUVAL HARARI 'A wonderful and important book' PETER FRANKOPAN 'A masterly display of the historian’s craft' J M COETZEE 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 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 convinced 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. 'A magnificent fusion of oral history, sparkling analysis, and historical wisdom. Revolusi has it all: a masterpiece' SEBASTIAN MALLABY 'At once vast and intimate, a history in colour' LAKSMI PAMUNTJAK 'A magisterial but gripping account of events of urgent importance to us now' JASON BURKE 'Revolusi briskly ushers Indonesia onto the centre stage of modern history' PANKAJ MISHRA 'One of the most unlikely and astonishing sagas ... a towering achievement' THOMAS MEANEY 'History as it should be' ANTJIE KROG *Featured in the Financial Times 'What To Read in 2024'*