In 1960, Patrice Lumumba became the first Prime Minister of the newly independent Congo, and within months, he was dead. Stuart A. Reid's meticulously researched account traces how one of Africa's most brilliant leaders was systematically undermined by the CIA, Belgian intelligence, and Cold War global powers who feared what a truly free Africa might mean for the world order.

Part political thriller, part cautionary tale — The Lumumba Plot is a masterclass in how charismatic vision without institutional infrastructure can be dismantled from the outside.

For the Revolutionary Book Club, this is our opening case study: What does it take to build movements that last?