Book excerpt: Patrice Lumumba (1925–61) was one of the most famous leaders of the African Independence Movement. After his murder, he became an icon of anti-imperialist struggle, and his picture, along with those of Che Guevara and Ho Chi Minh, was brandished around the world at demonstrations in the 1960s. This second edition of the only full biography of Lumumba presents his life and quest for the Congo’s liberation, which influenced how the Cold War would be fought in Africa and the nature of the independence granted to huge swaths of the globe after 1945. For those fighting for freedom, Lumumba became a figure of resistance against the imperial colonizers of the world. Including new archival material and information gained from British intelligence, this new edition is a valuable introduction to a pivotal figure of the twentieth century.