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Kirsten Berg: Rare Book Room Dispatch: Concerning Witches and Apparitions (0 comment)
The nights are colder, the days shorter, pumpkin spiced coffee is ubiquitous: it’s witching time. Saducismus Triumphatus: or, Full and Plain Evidence Concerning Witches and Apparitions, 1681, by Joseph Glanvil (or Glanvill, if you prefer) A small octavo, rebound in plain modern buckram, this title...
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Its Our Turn to Eat The Story of a Kenyan Whistle Blower

by Michela Wrong
Its Our Turn to Eat The Story of a Kenyan Whistle Blower

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  • Synopses & Reviews

ISBN13: 9780061346590
ISBN10: 0061346594



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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

In January 2003, Kenya--seen as the most stable country in Africa--was hailed as a model of democracy after the peaceful election of its new president, Mwai Kibaki. By appointing respected longtime reformer John Githongo as anticorruption czar, the new Kikuyu government signaled its determination to end the corrupt practices that had tainted the previous regime. Yet only two years later, Githongo himself was on the run, having discovered that the new administration was ruthlessly pillaging public funds.

Under former President Moi, his Kalenjin tribesmen ate. Now it's our turn to eat, politicians and civil servants close to the president told Githongo. As a member of the government and the president's own Kikuyu tribe, Githongo was expected to cooperate. But he refused to be bound by ethnic loyalty. Githongo had secretly compiled evidence of official malfeasance and, at great personal risk, made the painful choice to go public. The result was Kenya's version of Watergate.

Michela Wrong's account of how a pillar of the establishment turned whistle-blower, becoming simultaneously one of the most hated and admired men in Kenya, grips like a political thriller. At the same time, by exploring the factors that continue to blight Africa--ethnic favoritism, government corruption, and the smug complacency of Western donor nations--It's Our Turn to Eat probes the very roots of the continent's predicament. It is a story that no one concerned with our global future can afford to miss.

Review

“A gripping profile of an anti-corruption crusader.... Githongo...is a magnetic protagonist for Wrongs expose of the machinery of corruption.” Publishers Weekly

Review

“...urgent and important...” Harper's Magazine

Review

A solid investigative exposé Kirkus Reviews

Review

“Written with the pace of a thriller and a depth of analysis of a nation and a man, this is a compelling look at a nation struggling to overcome its past.” Booklist

Review

“A tumultuous journey through the official networks of sleaze that drained billions of dollars from Kenyas coffers... The extent of the fraud, and the level of destruction it wreaked, is shocking…” Newsweek International

Review

“Wrongs book is packed with detail and solid sourcing and tells its story clearly.” --Jeffrey Gettleman New York Review of Books

Review

“A fast-paced political thriller—with echoes of Graham Greene and John le Carré.... A gripping, thoughtful book.” New York Times Book Review

Review

“Important and illuminating…Reads like a John Le Carré novel…On a deeper and much richer level, its an analysis of how and why Kenya descended into political violence.” Caroline Elkins, Washington Post

Review

“A gripping saga…a down-to-earth yet sophisticated expose…a devastating account of how corruption and tribalism reinforce each other.” The Economist

Synopsis

In January 2003, Kenya was hailed as a model of democracy after the peaceful election of its new president, Mwai Kibaki. By appointing respected longtime reformer John Githongo as anticorruption czar, the new Kikuyu government signaled its determination to end the corrupt practices that had tainted the previous regime. Yet only two years later, Githongo himself was on the run, having secretly compiled evidence of official malfeasance throughout the new administration. Unable to remain silent, Githongo, at great personal risk, made the painful choice to go public. The result was a Kenyan Watergate.

Michela Wrong's account of how a pillar of the establishment turned whistle-blower—becoming simultaneously one of the most hated and admired men in Kenya—grips like a political thriller while probing the very roots of the continent's predicament.

Synopsis

"A fast-paced political thriller.... Wrong's gripping, thoughtful book stands as both a tribute to Githongo's courage and a cautionary tale." —New York Times Book Review

“On one level, Its Our Turn to Eat reads like a John Le Carré novel.... On a deeper and much richer level, the book is an analysis of how and why Kenya descended into political violence.” — Washington Post

Called "urgent and important” by Harper's magazine, Its Our Turn to Eat is a nonfiction political thriller of modern Kenya—an eye-opening account of tribal rivalries, pervasive graft, and the rising anger of a prospect-less youth that exemplifies an African dilemma.


About the Author

Michela Wrong has worked as a foreign correspondent for Reuters, the BBC, and the Financial Times. She has written about Africa for Slate.com and is a frequent commentator on African affairs in the media. Her first book, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz, won the James Stern Silver Pen Award for Nonfiction. She lives in London.

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Average customer rating 5 (1 comments)

`
John McCarthy , January 09, 2011 (view all comments by John McCarthy)
In light of the current corruption scandals in Kenya, the revelations of US-Kenya relations from WikiLeaks and the current election in southern Sudan, this extraordinary journalistic review of Kenya politics is relevant to the minute. As much as a gripping and finely researched tracking of events, Michela Wong also provides a compelling analysis of contemporary African politics and society.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780061346590
Binding:
Trade Paperback
Publication date:
06/08/2010
Publisher:
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS
Pages:
368
Height:
1.00IN
Width:
5.30IN
Thickness:
1.00
Number of Units:
1
Illustration:
Yes
UPC Code:
4294967295
Author:
Michela Wrong
Subject:
Biography-Political

Ships free on qualified orders.
Add to Cart
$17.99
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