took me a while to get through this, partially bc i was busy and also bc i am lacking a lot of reading comprehension skills (but i am working on it!). it is also dense imo but i think that the immense detail was necessary. this book was a fantastic, in-depth exploration of colonialism, imperialism, gaining independence, and decolonized nations. the only thing that really rubbed me the wrong way was the very first case within the section “colonial war and mental disorders.” it talks about how an Algerian man in the FLN’s wife was raped when she refused to give French soldiers/policemen info about him. the wife ended up telling the Algerian man about this, leading to his impotence and kind of centering himself within the rape, even saying “And did she have to tell me about [the rape]?” although i understand that this was a different time, and this is a description of a person that was treated, not his wife, it was quite unsettling to read his comments and to see such a case presented. regardless, that was a tiny snippet and the book was phenomenal overall.