- Hardcover: 496 pages
- Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd; First UK Edition/First Printing edition (20 Jan 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 022407363X
- ISBN-13: 978-0224073639
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.4 x 4.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 431,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
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Product Description
Britain fought in the Second World War to save the world from fascism. But just a few years after the defeat of Hitler came the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya - a massive armed rebellion by the Kikuyu people, demanding the return of their land and freedom. The draconian response of Britain's colonial government was to detain nearly the entire Kikuyu population of one-and-a half-million - to hold them in camps or confine them in villages ringed with barbed wire - to treat and portray them as sub-human savages. From 1952 until the end of the war in 1960 tens of thousands of detainees - and possibly hundreds of thousands - died from the combined effects of exhaustion, disease, starvation and systemic physical brutality. Until now these events have remained untold, largely because the British government in Kenya destroyed most of its files. For the last eight years Caroline Elkins has conducted exhausted research to piece together, unearthing reams of documents and interviewing several hundred Kikuyu survivors. Britain's Gulag reveals what happened inside Kenya's detention camps, as well as the efforts to conceal the truth. Now, for the first time, we can understand the full savagery of the Mau Mau was and the ruthless determination with which Britain sought to control its empire.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For those readers obviously perplexed by the challenging thesis which this book presents, and not least by what several other reviewers suggest is the flimsiness of its documentary evidence, confirmation that Caroline Elkins has largely hit the mark in her critique of British misconduct in the last decades of British rule in Kenya, are confirmed by the recent publication of 8.800 Foreign Office files from former British Colonies, including Kenya. However, complete confirmation, in all its gruesome detail, will never be entirely possible since most of the government papers relevant to Kenya were systematically destroyed in the early 1960s, apparently at the behest of the then Colonial Secretary, Iain Macleod. Even those documents concerning the final years of the British Empire which are now at last to see the light of day have been withheld improperly from public view, but it would appear that a few documents concerning the Mau Mau insurgency have survived among them. Those o Malaya, Aden, and Cyprus are likely to me more forthcoming.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The point of the book was to highlight the evils of the British Empire who they themselves would've denied and have th world believe they were the bringers of of light and democracy. Clearly when the empire was threatened,
changed or weakened the brutal force was then established to full effect. This book encapsulates britains worst points that were too often kept from view of the British public, ignorance is bliss. Thankfully the rotten core of imperialism has been exposed and hopefully lessons are learned and thoughts of the Nazi tyranny that is often played out by the British can now be compared by British public to feel that we were no better.
changed or weakened the brutal force was then established to full effect. This book encapsulates britains worst points that were too often kept from view of the British public, ignorance is bliss. Thankfully the rotten core of imperialism has been exposed and hopefully lessons are learned and thoughts of the Nazi tyranny that is often played out by the British can now be compared by British public to feel that we were no better.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book when I was working at a school in the White Highlands of Kenya, as I wanted to learn more about the Mau Mau uprising during the 1950s. Though the book was on the heavy side (and sometimes quite challenging to read) it highlighted many things that have been forgotten in history. I understand that many of the reviews here criticise the book in its apparent agenda, yet Elkins's has done this in order to uncover something that has been denied by the British for a very long time.
We are given a vast amount of witness testimony from the people who suffered, and this sometimes makes you wonder how such an injustice has been covered up. Herein lies the 'problem' with this book. Obviously, Elkins can claim that hard evidence from British records has all been destroyed and that many people affected by the camps are now long gone. But in a country where the life expectancy is under 60 it has been very hard to get accounts from survivors of this time, so first-hand evidence is a little sketchy. However, this could explain why the events appear to have been forgotten in Kenya. Talking to many Kenyans during my time there, there seemed to be little animosity towards to still-present white population (unlike Zimbabwe and South Africa), which is peculiar considering the alleged atrocities. There is close to no evidence from the white Kenyans involved who are still alive now, which fails to ensure a balanced perspective. The eyewitness accounts from those who suffered are endless, but this book does appear over-reliant on these sources.
Though it can be subjective (the atrocities of the Mau Mau rebels isn't dwelled upon), I do feel that one of Britain's past atrocities has been uncovered somewhat, albeit not fully. However, the fact that some camp survivors have now won compensation from the British government makes you wonder whether we have started to accept our nation's role in the uprising.
We are given a vast amount of witness testimony from the people who suffered, and this sometimes makes you wonder how such an injustice has been covered up. Herein lies the 'problem' with this book. Obviously, Elkins can claim that hard evidence from British records has all been destroyed and that many people affected by the camps are now long gone. But in a country where the life expectancy is under 60 it has been very hard to get accounts from survivors of this time, so first-hand evidence is a little sketchy. However, this could explain why the events appear to have been forgotten in Kenya. Talking to many Kenyans during my time there, there seemed to be little animosity towards to still-present white population (unlike Zimbabwe and South Africa), which is peculiar considering the alleged atrocities. There is close to no evidence from the white Kenyans involved who are still alive now, which fails to ensure a balanced perspective. The eyewitness accounts from those who suffered are endless, but this book does appear over-reliant on these sources.
Though it can be subjective (the atrocities of the Mau Mau rebels isn't dwelled upon), I do feel that one of Britain's past atrocities has been uncovered somewhat, albeit not fully. However, the fact that some camp survivors have now won compensation from the British government makes you wonder whether we have started to accept our nation's role in the uprising.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Mau Maus have a case, as Barbara Castle knew long before Caroline...
Despite the anti-imperialist mindset of the book, much mentioned by other reviewers, I was left in no doubt that the British have a case to answer regarding the treatment of the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by T. G. S. Hawksley
Mission Accomplished?
If Professor(?) Elkins was after controversy, then she has succeeded. Controversy does, after all, sell books. But a Pulitzer prize? Read more
Published 13 months ago by R. Duckett
Further reading.
I recommend those of you who are genuinely interested in the subject of Mau Mau to take the time (and trouble) to search out and read a copy of the British Colonial Office's... Read more
Published 19 months ago by HuddyBolly
A Hopelessly Biased and One-Sided History
This could so easily have been a good book. Much research has been carried out, and ignoring some idiosyncratic grammar, the writing style is clear and concise. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2010 by Dr. R. Brandon
An excellently researched book if a distressing read
I spent part of the first Armed Forces Day (which ironically was also the seventy fifth anniversary of the founding of the Peace Pledge Union) starting to read Caroline Elkin's... Read more
Published on 4 July 2009 by C. Townley
Sadly, a very subjective, inaccurate and poorley researched view of an...
The topic is significant and of historical importance and whilst this book highlights some of the atrocities that happened during colonial rule it is however very subjective and... Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2009 by Monty
History with distinct limitations.
Elkins' book has received many plaudits in America and was awarded the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for non fiction. Read more
Published on 21 Oct 2008 by Socratic wisdom
Forget the Hype...
This book deals with a sensitive topic to all involved and interested. The Mau Mau. Elkins does a superb job in highlighting the horrors of the time for exactly what they were. Read more
Published on 7 Mar 2007 by Mr. M. N. Baraza
A load of old dangerous rubbish some people will believe...
Having lived in Kenya for several years and married a Kikuyu, I read this book with initial interest. Read more
Published on 15 Dec 2006 by Richard Herbert
Is this a valid account of the events in Kenya at that time?
This is another extremely sensationalist account of the horrors of that time and fails therefore to provide an unbiased assessment of the problems for both the British... Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2006 by J. Denning
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