Revolusi

Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World

By: David Van Reybrouck

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Paperback | 9 September 2025

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19.7 x 13.1 x 4.0

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*Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize* A true masterpiece of narrative history showing Indonesia's epic revolution to be the great turning point of the 20th century

A story of staggering scope and drama, Revolusi is the definitive account of the epic revolution that sparked the decolonisation of the modern world.

On a sunny morning in August 1945, a handful of tired people raised a homemade cotton flag and announced the birth of a new nation: Indonesia. For three and a half centuries, its people had been subject to Dutch colonial rule. It would take another four years of guerrilla warfare and resistance – the ‘Revolusi’ – to finally win their freedom, blazing a trail that would reshape the world.

Drawing on hundreds of interviews and eye-witness testimonies, David Van Reybrouck’s superbly woven narrative is alive with human detail at every turn, showing Indonesia’s struggle for independence to be one of the defining dramas of the twentieth century.

About the Author

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.

Industry Reviews

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

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