Britain's Gulag Audiobook By Caroline Elkins cover art

Britain's Gulag

The Brutal End of Empire in Kenya

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Brought to you by Penguin.

Only a few years after Britain defeated fascism came the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya - a mass 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 1.5 million and to portray them as sub-human savages. Detainees in their thousands - possibly a hundred thousand or more - died from exhaustion, disease, starvation and systemic physical brutality. For decades these events remained untold.

Caroline Elkins conducted years of research to piece together this story, unearthing reams of documents and interviewing several hundred Kikuyu survivors. Britain's Gulag reveals, for the first time, the full savagery of the Mau Mau war and the ruthless determination with which Britain sought to control its empire.

© Caroline Elkins 2005 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

Accolades & Awards

Pulitzer Prize
2006
Africa Pulitzer Prize 20th Century Politics & Government Great Britain Modern Europe

Critic reviews

A tale of systematic violence and high-level cover-ups
Caroline Elkins has starkly illuminated one of the darkest secrets of late British imperialism. She has shown how, even when they profess the most altruistic of intentions, empires can still be brutal in their response to dissent by subject peoples. We all need reminding of that today (Niall Ferguson)
Given the number and nature of the atrocities that filled the 20th century, the degree of brutality and violence perpetrated by British settlers, police, army and their African loyalist supporters against the Kikuyu during the Mau Mau period should not be surprising. Nor, perhaps, the fact that the British government turned a blind eye, and later covered them up. What is surprising, however, is that it has taken so long to document the whole ghastly story-this is what makes Caroline Elkins's disturbing and horrifying account so important and memorable (Caroline Moorehead)
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I rated this audiobook 5 stars, having been unprepared for the devastating account of events that occurred within my own lifetime. While I had some knowledge of Kenya due to my frequent travels there for work, I had never encountered the harrowing history of the brutal treatment endured by the Kikuyu people during the Mau Mau uprising.

This book sheds light on a dark chapter in British colonial history, one that has been largely ignored or glossed over. Many times, I had to pause the audiobook to absorb the gravity of the atrocities being described. The narrative was so powerful that it felt like being transported back in time, witnessing the horrors firsthand.

A close Kenyan friend once told me that every Kenyan should read this book, but I believe it goes further than that—every person of color, and indeed anyone interested in human rights and history, should read it. The events that took place in Kenya in the early 1950s bear disturbing similarities to the Holocaust. The systematic violence, internment, and dehumanization of the Kikuyu people are chilling reminders of what unchecked power and prejudice can lead to.

Caroline Elkins deserves immense credit for her meticulous research and for bringing to light these buried truths. The fragments of history she has pieced together reveal the true extent of the atrocities committed. Even today, generations later, the descendants of those directly affected likely still bear the psychological and physical scars of this brutal period.

This history should be mandatory learning in schools, both in Kenya and worldwide. It's a vital lesson on the importance of justice and human rights, and a stark warning against allowing such circumstances to arise again. The Kikuyu people deserve recognition and reparations for the suffering they endured.

Elkins' work is a profound and necessary contribution to our understanding of colonial history and its lasting impacts. This audiobook is not just a recounting of past events but a call to remember and ensure such atrocities are never repeated.

Britain's Colonial Atrocities in Kenya Unveiled

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