Revolusi
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  • Published: 6 February 2024
  • ISBN: 9781847927057
  • Imprint: Bodley Head
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 656
  • RRP: $36.99

Revolusi

Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World

Formats & editions
Paperback
9 Sep 2025
Tr. Paperback
6 Feb 2024
EBook
8 Feb 2024
Audiobook
8 Feb 2024
Hardback
8 Mar 2024
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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 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.
  • Published: 6 February 2024
  • ISBN: 9781847927057
  • Imprint: Bodley Head
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 656
  • RRP: $36.99
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About the author

David Van Reybrouck

David Van Reybrouck is considered ‘one of the leading intellectuals in Europe’ (Der Tagesspiegel) and is a pioneering advocate of participatory democracy. He founded the G1000 Citizens' Summit, and his work has led to trials in participatory democracy throughout Belgium and The Netherlands. He is also one of the most highly regarded literary and political writers of his generation, whose most recent book, Congo: The Epic History of a People, won 19 prizes, sold 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.

portrait photo of David Van Reybrouck

Also by David Van Reybrouck

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Praise for Revolusi

A magnificent fusion of oral history, sparkling analysis, and historical wisdom. Revolusi has it all: a masterpiece

Sebastian Mallaby

With rare narrative brilliance, Revolusi gives us a history at once vast and intimate, a history in colour

Laksmi Pamuntjak

A magisterial and gripping account of events of urgent importance to us now

Jason Burke

Masterly

J M Coetzee

An astounding feat of both research and storytelling. History at its best

Yuval Harari

History as it should be. Carried by a democracy of ordinary voices, meticulous research, an eye for decisive detail, vivid language and drama

Antjie Krog

A towering achievement . . . one of the most unlikely and astonishing sagas

Thomas Meaney

Revolusi briskly ushers Indonesia onto the centre stage of modern history

Pankaj Mishra

A wonderful and important book

Peter Frankopan

Superb

Guardian

Masterful . . . utterly compelling . . . unfolds over a vast geopolitical canvas and yet never falters . . . propelled by the stories of its astonishing cast

Financial Times, *Books of the Year*

Majestic and beautifully written

Times Literary Supplement

Immensely readable

Adam Hochschild, Atlantic

An electrifying narrative

Tunku Varadarajan, Wall Street Journal

The definitive account of a neglected epoch

Economist

An outstanding account of one nation's unsung fight for freedom . . . enthralling . . . magnificent

Todd Kushner, Washington Independent Review of Books

Masterly . . . This compelling narrative . . . wrapped around an extraordinary core of individuals . . . convincingly argues that Indonesia in itself represents a global crossroads, one of the most important in modern history

Elizabeth Pisani, The Times

The story of [Indonesia’s] formation is delivered in a manner that genuinely seems unsurpassable

History Today, *Books of the Year*

We learn something utterly fascinating on every single page

Evening Standard, *Best Books of 2024*

Revolusi…is the most important book in English to place the Indonesian revolution in a global context since the work of Benedict Anderson…Van Reybrouck’s skill lies in telling the story for a wide readership

London Review of Books

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