Histories of the Hanged: Testimonies from the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya

Anderson's 'Histories of The Hanged' is captivating. It details a part of Kenyan history which has until recently been overlooked and misunderstood, and is therefore a vital read. Though packed with academically useful insights and information, it is also accessible to even the most casual of audiences. It is a useful read for Kenyans and non-Kenyans alike.

Histories of the Hanged (1/1 people found this helpful)

David Anderson's 'Histories of the Hanged' offers what most other narratives of this period have failed to do: a highly complex, balanced, and rigorously documented account of Mau Mau. His analysis of the counter-insurgency is detailed; and given the world we live in today, his assessment of the use of law to justify increasingly repressive measures in the name of security is important. It is a finely balanced narrative, which combines a passionate commitment to addressing some of the misconceptions and myths that have grown up about this period in Kenya's history, without losing a deep sense of sympathy and outrage at the violence perpetrated by all sides.

An excellent work for academic and non-academic audiences alike. Thoroughly recommended.

Praise for "Histories of the Hanged." (1/1 people found this helpful)

For those interested in the historical and social processes through which the law becomes the condition of possibility for the extreme persecution not only of political adversaries but of entire categories of citizens, read "Histories of the Hanged." Anderson has provided a careful interrogation of the colonial legal record that seriously undermines any easy claim to the legitimacy of systematic and lethal state force carried out in the name of the law.

HIstories of the Hanged (2/2 people found this helpful)

This book is a powerful, revelatory and balanced account of the Mau Mau rebellion and the British response to it. Because Anderson's conclusions are grounded in documentary evidence produced by the colonial authorities, his criticisms of the counter-insurgency campaign carry much weight. Well-written and incisive, Anderson treats all of his subjects judiciously and in an even-handed manner. This book is undeserving of the misguided criticisms made of it by Bwana Bunduki below. This is a fine example of historical scholarship at its very best.

Histories of the Hanged (5/5 people found this helpful)

I wish to take issue with Bwana Bunduki. Anderson's book was about more than the use of law in counter-insurgency. It detailed, as few other books have done, the extraordinary complexity of the Kenya crisis, with deep insight into what divided the Kikuyu people. It went on to analyse the great divisions on the British side, between senior judges and senior policemen, and generals, on the one hand, most of whom tried to uphold the laws of war and, on the other, magistrates, members of the security forces and, perhaps above all, the Provincial Administration who judged that loyalty to their Kikuyu allies required that the former avert their eyes from, and connive in the cover-ups, of the misdeeds of the latter. While Anderson is unsparing in his criticism, he is also deeply compassionate towards the victims of both Mau Mau and of British counter-insurgency, conscious of the historian's duty to understand, and sympathise with the conflicting demands of the past, as much as to pass judgment. The judgments he arrives at are, very properly, largely from the mouths of British actors at the time.

Histories of the Hanged: Testimonies from the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya

David Anderson

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An imporant read (1/1 people found this helpful)

Histories of the Hanged (1/1 people found this helpful)

Praise for "Histories of the Hanged." (1/1 people found this helpful)

HIstories of the Hanged (2/2 people found this helpful)

Histories of the Hanged (5/5 people found this helpful)

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