Originally published in 1972 and as a second edition in 1979, this widely acclaimed biography of Africa’s first modern statesman tells the story of Kenyatta’s extraordinary and enigmatic career. It is the story of a life punctuated by dramatic twists of fortune which closely reflects Africa’s emergence from colonial rule.
Originally published in 1972 and as a second edition in 1979, this widely acclaimed biography of Africa’s first modern statesman tells the story of Kenyatta’s extraordinary and enigmatic career. It is the story of a life punctuated by dramatic twists of fortune which closely reflects Africa’s emergence from colonial rule. In the preparation of this book Jeremy Murray-Brown used a variety of unpublished sources. He pieces together the background of Kenyatta’s childhood as a ‘mission boy’ in the days when Nairobi was a raw frontier settlement; of his way of life as a young ‘de-tribalized’ African in the 1920s; of his role in the controversy regarding female circumcision; his sixteen years in Britain; his visits to Russia between the wars; his trial and long years in a desert prison charged with managing Mau Mau.
The result is a rounded portrait and its objective approach to the enigmas which have surrounded the African leader places him firmly in his historical context. Set against the background of the rise and fall of British colonialism the book also makes an important contribution towards an understanding of the revolutionary forces which have moulded the shape of modern Africa.
Arvustused
Original reviews of Kenyatta:
A model of its kindunlikely to be superseded for many years. Africa
Powerfully interestinga book you will not easily put down. Dillibe Onyeama, Books and Bookmen
Presented with a balance and judgment that are remarkableMr Murray-Browns treatment of the Mau Mau era is particularly good. Times Literary Supplement
An important book which no-one interested in Africacan afford to miss. John Fletcher-Cooke, Spectator
His success in conveying so much of thedetail and atmosphere of his subject makes the book both informative and enjoyable to read. The Economist.
1. A World Outside History
2. The Coming of the White Man
3. Kenyatta:
Birth and Childhood
4. Thogoto, the Scottish Mission
5. Nairobi and White
Settlement
6. World War I
7. The Aftermath of War: Harry Thuku
8. Kenyatta
and the Church
9. Kenyatta Enters Politics
10. London 1929-30
11. Female
Circumcision
12. Return to London
13. Moscow
14. The Long Wait
15. Kenyatta
the Student
16. Facing Mount Kenya
17. Kenyatta the Pan-African
18. World War
II
19. Kenya 1946-52
20. Kapenguria
21. Lokitaung
22. Uhuru and Dust
23. The
President. Appendix A: When was Kenyatta Born? Appendix B: The Operation of
Female Circumcision Appendix C: Covenant and Resolutions by the PCEA, 1969.
Jeremy Murray-Brown (19322025)
