Revolusi

**Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2024**<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>'Astounding . . . history at its best' Yuval Noah Harari<BR>'Utterly compelling . . . astonishing' Financial Times<BR>'Superb' Guardian<BR><BR>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: Indonesia.<BR><BR>Four million civilians had died during the Japanese wartime occupation that ousted its 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 finally brought the conflict to an end - and with it, 350 years of colonial rule - setting a precedent that would reshape the world.<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>'A magnificent fusion of oral history, sparkling analysis, and historical wisdom. Revolusi has it all: a masterpiece' Sebastain Mallaby<BR><BR>'A magisterial and gripping account of events of urgent importance to us now' Jason Burke<BR><BR>'A wonderful book' Peter Frankopan<BR><BR>'Masterly' J M Coetzee<BR><BR>** Shortlisted for the Cundill Prize ** A Financial Times, Evening Standard, History Today and Prospect Best Book of 2024 **