The Eyes of the World

Chock-full of fascinating details on the people and communities that have lived off mining in the chaos of the wars in Congo. * Foreign Affairs * Blood minerals: a global cause 'intended to do one thing, but under the surface, invisible to many, . . . doing something else.' Smith offers a whirlwind of research on the varied actors who extract coltan-often in the ruins of colonial concessions-making it available to international markets. The Eyes of the World skillfully cuts through metropolitan stereotypes, drawing readers instead into the astounding vortex of the mines. * Anna Tsing, coeditor of Feral Atlas: The More-than-Human Anthropocene * A riveting, wonderful potpourri of story, theory, and history. The Eyes of the World hugs closely to people's lives, words, and theories, vividly unpacking multiple dimensions of movement in the mining of those digital minerals that end up in global devices. One of the most brilliant, important, and utterly teachable ethnographies to appear on Congo in a long time. * Nancy Rose Hunt, author of A Nervous State: Violence, Reveries, and Remedies in Colonial Congo * Smith gives us a rare glimpse into the complex dynamics of otherwise largely invisible local worlds that do nonetheless matter on a global scale. A great observer and talented narrator, he convincingly argues how, in the vortex of these Congolese mining worlds, destructive forms of extra-statecraft undid existing socio-cultural assemblages while generating the basis for new transformative orders. * Filip De Boeck, author of Suturing the City: Living Together in Congo's Urban Worlds *