Review by Choice Review
This history of the Kamba of Kenya over the last two centuries is also about the British colonialists and their mentality. Osborne (Univ. of Colorado, Boulder) argues that over time, the two groups--the Kamba and British colonial authorities--worked together to imbue the "tribe" with a particular set of cultural characteristics. Foremost among these characteristics was martial inclination, as contextualized by a notion of loyalty manipulated by both sides in different eras. After a discouraging introduction in which he engages in name-dropping and provides an overly detailed "layout" of the text, the author gets down to serious reporting. Taking advantage of literary and oral history, he offers a substantial and informative chronological treatment, starting in the mid-19th century and continuing to the present (in the form of an epilogue on the last Kenyan election). Particularly interesting is discussion of the Mau Mau revolt (in the mid-20th century), in which the Kamba played a pivotal role, and the onset of independence shortly thereafter, when their representatives formed a major portion of the new state's military forces. This is an important addition to the literature on East African history. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --W. Arens, Stony Brook University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
