Read this book. It will make you a better citizen of this planet. Seriously.

My first selection for the DRC is Dancing in the Glory of Monsters by Jason Stearns, and although it took me some time to get through, it was well worth the effort. This is a comprehensive, intelligent study of the ongoing conflict in the DRC and an introduction to the major players and the myriad reasons it all fired up, and keeps on going.

It does not peddle in lazy literary tropes; there’s no “dark heart of Africa” happening here. Mr. Stearns treats this subject with the even-handed respect that the people of the DRC deserve. It made me realize that personally, I’m not offered that viewpoint very often. Does American media really even cover this conflict? Do we have any idea how much our culture directly funds the destruction of other people’s lives? We…