Many books on famous people have been published. Africa has received its share of these books. You can find books that read like hagiographies, you will find out how wonderful the main character of the book is. He has become a saint. The facts written down have been carefully selected to portray a good picture. … Continue reading the half-truths biographers tell
hotel des mille collines
Twenty years ago disaster struck Rwanda. A manmade disaster. Thousand upon thousands were slaughtered. Shortly afterwards we met a young man who had fled his country. He was from a Hutu and a Tutsi background. He did not trust anybody. We were outside from the box he had been living in. We could talk in … Continue reading hotel des mille collines
happy valley
For those of you who a bit about Kenya the words “Happy Valley” do ring a bell. These words bring us back to the colonial days between two world wars. The heady days of colonialism where the rich and mighty had much to spend, where drugs and extra-marital relations and murder (?) were present. In … Continue reading happy valley
CONGO
About 2 1/2 years ago I wrote on this blog a small note in Dutch on a fabulous book on Congo, written by a Flemish author, David van Reybrouck. I enjoyed the book very much, even though part of it is a very sad story indeed. The author was able to write in a very … Continue reading CONGO
how i started telling
A historian with books to his name. A writer with a historical book. You are looking at the Kenyan couple Bethwell and Grace Ogot. In this article Bethwell Ogot talks about his views on politics and books and the intellectual elite.
dust
Dust, the tragic story of a nation of terrible secret violence It is Kenya’s turn at the sepia-toned festival of champagne memories and official nostalgia that passes for the ritual marking of half a century of flag Independence. There is much to celebrate and we can expect to hear it all at the grand fete … Continue reading dust
