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dobbydoo22's review
5.0
A very comprehensive and even-handed history of how Kenya's Mau Mau movement developed, progressed, and ultimately ended (although you can't say it was necessarily "resolved). Good scholarship and insights into the factors motivating all sides of the issues at hand. This was such a horrific period and was really the absolute low point of British colonialism; it's a shame that it doesn't get more attention in history classes.
fleshemoji's review
4.0
Are you one of those people who pays attention to the book titles that flash up during John Oliver episodes, then tracks them down on Goodreads and adds them to their to-read list? Guilty.
This was a really good look at a part of history I had no idea of, in the vein of [b:King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa|40961621|King Leopold's Ghost A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa|Adam Hochschild|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532716127l/40961621._SY75_.jpg|937922] (dealing with the Belgian rule of the Congo), though of course this deals with a very isolated period in Kenya's history (though bloody and horrible, nonetheless). It's worth saying Anderson doesn't quite have Hochschild's way with words in terms of setting a scene, and this book is a much drier historical account.
In and of itself, that's not necessarily a bad thing; what I did find a bit overwhelming was the extensive cast presented to us, including people mentioned only once as part of their "trial" (these were not real trials in any sense, hence the quotation marks) who subsequently went on to be hanged. Of course, I understand the necessity of naming all of these people- in fact, it would be an injustice not to, and it certainly solidifies just the sheer number of people who died as a result of sham trials to save a dying empire's hold on a country that should have never been theirs. It did, however, make it difficult at times to keep track of all the people involved and how they all fit- particularly Kenyan political leaders who were detained but did manage to survive.
None of this is to take away from a thorough account of that time, centred heavily on those who had the most to suffer from the actions of the British. I would certainly like to pursue more reading about the history of Kenya more broadly.
This was a really good look at a part of history I had no idea of, in the vein of [b:King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa|40961621|King Leopold's Ghost A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa|Adam Hochschild|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532716127l/40961621._SY75_.jpg|937922] (dealing with the Belgian rule of the Congo), though of course this deals with a very isolated period in Kenya's history (though bloody and horrible, nonetheless). It's worth saying Anderson doesn't quite have Hochschild's way with words in terms of setting a scene, and this book is a much drier historical account.
In and of itself, that's not necessarily a bad thing; what I did find a bit overwhelming was the extensive cast presented to us, including people mentioned only once as part of their "trial" (these were not real trials in any sense, hence the quotation marks) who subsequently went on to be hanged. Of course, I understand the necessity of naming all of these people- in fact, it would be an injustice not to, and it certainly solidifies just the sheer number of people who died as a result of sham trials to save a dying empire's hold on a country that should have never been theirs. It did, however, make it difficult at times to keep track of all the people involved and how they all fit- particularly Kenyan political leaders who were detained but did manage to survive.
None of this is to take away from a thorough account of that time, centred heavily on those who had the most to suffer from the actions of the British. I would certainly like to pursue more reading about the history of Kenya more broadly.
aubreystapp's review
1.0
Couldn't finish it, the writing was just too dull. It's amazing that with such an interesting topic he still manages to be so boring.
mojostdennis's review
3.0
read harder challenge 2022: read a history about a period you know little about
fifty two book club 2022: read a book with the author's photo on the back cover
fifty two book club 2022: read a book with the author's photo on the back cover
stevendedalus's review
4.0
Well-researched, a historian's account of the Mau Mau rebellion that alternates between fly-on-the-wall courtroom transcripts and briefing documents to sweeping accounts of the decades of colonialism. It provides a thorough account of the context for and detail of the rebellion without concerning itself too much with modern Kenya until the end.
The tone is dry and sometimes wry, with an outsider's distance but the expert historian's sometimes too easy throwaways of names and events that the casual reader doesn't quite grasp.
But it provides a very informative account, jumping around chronologically sometimes confusingly to provide the proper context but resulting in an instructive whole.
Sometimes it can feel a bit surface level, but it never tries to be anything more. A great introduction to a subject I knew nothing about.
The tone is dry and sometimes wry, with an outsider's distance but the expert historian's sometimes too easy throwaways of names and events that the casual reader doesn't quite grasp.
But it provides a very informative account, jumping around chronologically sometimes confusingly to provide the proper context but resulting in an instructive whole.
Sometimes it can feel a bit surface level, but it never tries to be anything more. A great introduction to a subject I knew nothing about.
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