Caroline Elkins

Easton Press Caroline Elkins books

Imperial Reckoning - Signed limited edition as part of The 2006 Pulitzer Prize Winners set - 2006

 

Caroline Elkins biography

Caroline Elkins is an American historian and academic, best known for her work in the field of African history. Born in 1969, she has gained recognition for her extensive research and writings, particularly on the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya during the 1950s. Caroline Elkins completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University before pursuing her doctoral degree in African history at Harvard University. Her dissertation and subsequent book, titled Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya, published in 2005, brought her international acclaim and several awards.

Imperial Reckoning sheds light on the brutal treatment of detainees by the British colonial authorities during the Mau Mau Uprising. The book, based on meticulous research and interviews, uncovered evidence of torture, abuse, and human rights violations committed by the British against Kenyan detainees. This work not only challenged historical narratives but also sparked debates and discussions on the responsibility of colonial powers for their actions.

Caroline Elkins' research and writing go beyond the Mau Mau Uprising. She has explored broader themes in African history and politics, contributing significantly to the understanding of colonial legacies and post-colonial challenges on the continent. Apart from her scholarly contributions, Caroline Elkins has been involved in academia. She has held teaching positions at various institutions, including Harvard University, where she served as a professor of history. Her work has influenced not only the academic community but has also had implications for legal cases seeking reparations for the victims of colonial abuses.

 

Imperial Reckoning - The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya

Britain fought in the Second World War to save the world from fascism. But just a few years after the defeat of Hitler came the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya a mass armed rebellion by the Kikuyu people, demanding the return of their land and freedom. The draconian response of Britain's colonial government was to detain nearly the entire Kikuyu population of one-and-a half-million to hold them in camps or confine them in villages ringed with barbed wire and to portray them as sub-human savages.

From 1952 until the end of the war in 1960 tens of thousands of detainees and possibly a hundred thousand or more died from the combined effects of exhaustion, disease, starvation and systemic physical brutality. Until now these events have remained untold, largely because the British government in Kenya destroyed most of its files. For the last eight years Caroline Elkins has conducted exhaustive research to piece together the story, unearthing reams of documents and interviewing several hundred Kikuyu survivors.

Britain's Gulag reveals what happened inside Kenya's detention camps, as well as the efforts to conceal the truth. Now, for the first time, we can understand the full savagery of the Mau Mau war and the ruthless determination with which Britain sought to control its empire.