I read it because I felt I had to. It was one of those books, and I
have more than a few on my shelf now, that you simply get told
again and again that these are VERY IMPORTANT BOOKS, and YOU MUST
READ them. I thought it was good and all, and I made it to the end,
but I didn't leave with any new understanding. Except maybe for
that passage about the Thames in Roman times.
...Which has something to do with the title of the book, the Heart
of Darkness, warning against hubris in a strange land, but also
warning that success isn't all it's cracked up to be. Soon after I
read this, I rented Apocalypse Now, and that clarified things a
little bit, at least in my mind, about what it means to "win" a
war.