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Book | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The life and times of General China: Mau Mau and the end of empire in Kenya |
Editors: | Itote, Waruhiu Osborne, Myles |
Year: | 2015 |
Pages: | 282 |
Language: | English |
City of publisher: | Princeton |
Publisher: | Markus Wiener Publishers |
ISBN: | 1558765964; 9781558765962; 1558765972; 9781558765979 |
Geographic term: | Kenya |
Subjects: | Mau Mau national liberation struggles leadership historical sources historiography biographies (form) |
About person: | Waruhiu Itote (1922-1993) |
Abstract: | Waruhiu Itote, or 'General China', led Mau Mau guerillas in a daring struggle against the British colonial government and its 'loyalist' allies in Kenya during the 1950s. He was, however, spared the gallows because he turned government informant. A collaborator to some, the General was a hero to others. His supporters interpreted his change of heart as motivated by a desire to end the conflict and save lives, and they venerated the his wholehearted service to the independent nation of Kenya after 1963. This book delves into the mind of this fascinating, complex and ambiguous character. It provides a biographical sketch of the General in the introduction and then brings together a rich collection of primary sources. These include an abridged version of General China's famous memoir ''Mau Mau' General', the typescripts of the General's interrogation and trial at British hands, and his 1993 eulogy by former district officer John Nottingham. Chapters: Foreword (John Lonsdale); Introduction (Myles Osborne); 'Mau Mau' general (abridged) (Waruhiu Itote); The interrogation of Waruhiu Itote (General China); The trial of Waruhiu Itote (General China); Letter from Waruhiu Itote to Chief Mechanical Engineer, East African Railways and Harbours, October 16, 1953 (Waruhiu Itote); Eulogy: Waruhiu Itote (John Nottingham). The book furthermore contains 'study questions' and a chapter called The historiography of Mau Mau (Myles Osborne). [ASC Leiden abstract] |