Man Hunt in Kenya

by Philip Goodhart and Ian Henderson

Book Overview

""Man Hunt In Kenya"" is a non-fiction book written by Ian Henderson that tells the true story of the manhunt for the leader of the Mau Maus, a militant group that fought for Kenya's independence from... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553267752
• ISBN13: 9780553267754
• Release Date: December 1987
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The End of Mau Mau

The Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya has many faces. Robert Ruark's "Something of Value" seemed to cover the topic for me, initially. However, my first year at university, I became acquainted with a (brilliant)Kikuyu graduate student, who despised Robert Ruark's characterization, and the British. He would not, however, discuss Mau Mau or the rebellion. "Manhunt in Kenya" covers what was essentially a police action, or more properly a Special Police action, to capture the remnants of the Mau Mau gangs (anti-colonialist freedom fighters?) who had been forced to flee into the high wilderness of the Aberdere range in Kenya, with focus on their most dangerous and capable leader, Dedan Kimathi. Ian Henderson's book is very interesting for its description of some of the techniques used to locate and capture Kimathi. Outdoorsmen will be interested in the hardships facing the police in contending with the wilderness and how both they and the Mau Mau coped. Henderson describes the Mau Mau exclusively as thieves, bandits, and criminals, though he does not dwell on this aspect of their social behavior. Ruark is actually much more dramatic about the criminality (and worse) aspects of Mau Mau. Henderson's descriptions are convincing about the people in this book, and his book is a very good read. I plan also to read Jomo Kenyatta's book and a book lately by an African professor who appears to contradict Henderson's and Ruark's views. I will follow these with a book by a British policeman which covers the duration of the Mau Mau upheaval.