This enlightening investigative work is written by Tom Burgis, who has spent nine years reporting on Africa for the Financial Times, including as a correspondent in Johannesburg and Lagos. The continent was controlled and exploited by European colonial powers from the late nineteenth century through much of the twentieth. But even after the countries gained independence, they were subject to financial colonialism. This bondage involves African leaders and elites working with a network of multinationals, corporate investors, and bankers. These wheeler-dealers are looting the continent's precious national resources:

  • The oil of Angola and Nigeria
  • The coltan and diamonds of the Democratic Republic of Congo
  • The iron ore of Guinea
  • The uranium of Niger
  • The diamonds in Zimbabwe

The poor in these countries do not profit from these deals as all the big money flows into the coffers of the ruling class. The mineral abundance has not resulted in economic success: Africa's share of global manufacturing in 2001 was 1 percent.

Burgis provides telling interviews with fisherman, miners, and slum dwellers who voice their discontent with this "resource curse." He also profiles some of the robber barons who have made millions on various deals, including an Israeli billionaire and a Chinese businessman. With plenty of money to invest, China is a major player in Africa with deals in Angola, the Republic of Congo, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe.

The Looting Machine by Tom Burgis achieves its goal of making readers think twice about what goes into the phones we carry around with us and the gas that goes in the tanks of our cars.