Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2024A 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 Noah HarariUtterly compelling . . . astonishing Financial TimesSuperb GuardianOn 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.Four million civilians had died during the Japanese wartime occupation that ousted its Dutch colonial regime. Another 200000 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 Indonesias 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.Drawing on hundreds of interviews and eyewitness 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 Indonesias struggle for independence to be one of the defining dramas of the twentieth century.A magnificent fusion of oral history sparkling analysis and historical wisdom. Revolusi has it all a masterpiece Sebastain MallabyA magisterial and gripping account of events of urgent importance to us now Jason BurkeA wonderful book Peter FrankopanMasterly J M Coetzee Shortlisted for the Cundill Prize A Financial Times Evening Standard History Today and Prospect Best Book of 2024