Uhuru

by Robert Ruark

This is the second printing of the first US Edition from 1962. Possibly book club.

Genres: Fiction, Africa, Historical Fiction, Historical, Kenya

555 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1962

About the author

Robert Ruark was an author and syndicated columnist.

Born Robert Chester Ruark, Jr., to Charlotte A. Ruark and Robert C. Ruark, a bookkeeper for a wholesale grocery, young Ruark attended local schools and graduated from New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. He graduated from high school at age 12 and entered the University of North Carolina at age 15. The Ruark family was deeply affected by the Depression, but despite his families' financial travails, he earned a journalism degree from the University of North 'Carolina at Chapel Hill.

During World War II Ruark was commissioned an ensign in the United States Navy. Ruark served ten months as a gunnery officer on Atlantic and Mediterranean convoys.After the war Ruark joined the Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance. As the New York Times said, Ruark was "sometimes glad, sometimes sad, and often mad--but almost always provocative." Some of his columns were eventually collected into two books, I Didn't Know It Was Loaded (1948) and One for the Road (1949).As he grew in notoriety, Ruark began to write fiction; first for literary magazines, and then his first novel, Grenadine Etching in 1947.

After he began to gain success as a writer, Ruark decided that it was time to fulfill a lifelong dream to go on safari to Africa. Ruark took an entire year off and began a love affair with Africa.As a result of his first safari, Ruark wrote Horn of the Hunter, in which he detailed his hunt.

In 1953, Ruark began writing a column for Field & Stream magazine entitled ''The Old Man and the Boy''. Considered largely autobiographical (although technically fiction), this heartwarming series ran until late 1961.

Ruark's first bestselling novel was published in 1955. It was entitled Something of Value and was about the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya.

Sometimes belittled as “the poor man’s Hemingway,” Ruark has nevertheless retained a loyal following among fans of nature writing. Bland Simpson wrote that he produced “some of the best ‘portraiture in words’ of hunting, fishing and life in the field that we have.”

Ruark died in London on July 1, 1965 most likely as a result of alcoholism.
Robert Ruark is buried in Palamos, Spain.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_R...

Reviews

[Chris]

Research for my 2022 novel set, in part, in the Serengeti.

[Charles Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have worked with the British, South Africans. Arabs, and Africans and I find the book extremely accurate as the turmoil,prejudice and sense of superority by the British, South Africans and Arabs was enough to cause any uprising. The Kenyans fought with a primitive zeal, knowing that this was the only way to stop colonial rule. When I was in Bahrain in the early 70's The British still felt that they ruled. Ruark although sounding prejudice in his books is merely stating what he saw and felt at the times,unless you've been there you read his books as pure fantasy, but to know the people and the countries is to see his fiction as a sign of the times. Today we like to rewrite our novels and our history to try and show we were just misguided; but we are human, with human bias, haterd and greed, these things did happen in the World not just Africa. It is time we acknowledge these faults and stop editing and rewriting books because we don't like what is said or what someone is called. Ruark is a man of his time a very troubled man, a brilliant man and a man who has been lost to the techinal world.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started off thinking, "I like his other book, Something of Value, a lot better." That book began in the childhood of two men raised almost as brothers, so you're more gently introduced to colonial Africa before the story slides you into a more cynical Mau Mau situation.

Uhuru, on the other hand, begins ten years after all the worst Mau Mau stuff, so you start off in the cynical mode, and you don't get that young golden ideal feeling when you first read about a time and place.

Then this book seems to slide even further into a morass, and it gets a little hard to read, knowing that this is all based on truth, on real events. You start feeling awful about the nature of man.

Beautiful writing, though. You could drop yourself in the middle of a Ruark book and marvel at whatever paragraph you happened to land upon.

And in the end, you find redemption. Ruark has gone the other way -- starting with cynicism and ending with hope. It wrapped the book up really nicely for me, as well as it wrapped up that bit of history.

Finished reading August, 13, 2007.

[Chrisl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long long ago went through Ruark reading binge. Was interested in politics of Britain's African Raj. Definitely book should be on reading lists about Africa's more recent history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uhuru_M...
***
Have home from library, Hemingway's "True at first light" - in the introduction Patrick Hemingway writes:

" ... what was going on in Kenya in the Northern Hemisphere winter of 1953-54 -
Jomo Kenyatta, a well-educated and widely traveled black African, a Kikuyu who had married an Englishwoman when he lived in that country ... returned to his native Kenya and unleashed there a black farm laborers' insurgency called Mau Mau against the landowning immigrant farmers from Europe whom the Kikuyu believed had stolen the land from them." ...

"Mau Mau ... anthropology of Kikuyu ... by taking sacred oath ... turned him into a kamikaze ... The most common agricultural implement ... a panga, a heavy-bladed, single-edged sword ... able to cut brush, dig holes and kill people ...

" ... known as the White Highlands, a reserve set aside exclusively for European ...

[Joan Garvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book years ago, when I was only about 17. I've kept it on my shelves and now I am rereading and loving it. The story is gripping, particularly since it is set within the time and place of dramatic and very real occurances. There are times when I find the attitudes shocking and I am often wondering just where Ruark stood. The descriptions are terrific. I feel like I am being transported through time and space to the plains of Africa or sitting at one of the many bars the characters frequent. I understand that much has happened both in Kenya and throughout Africa since the times in which this was written. This books makes me want to explore some of this later writing. Ruark certainly does not portray a romanticized image of the English, the colonials in Africa but neither does he romanticize the Kenyans. There is quite a bit of cynicism in the characters and maybe this is closer to the author himself. I haven't finished the book and when I do I will write some more but for now I just wanted to touch base with others who might be thinking of spending some time with Ruark - who knows maybe we'll swap some notes. Good reading to you.

[Checkman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A loose sequel to "Something of Value". Set in the final days of British controlled Kenya the story is an interesting look at how the looming independence is effecting both the white British and the native Kenyans. Being a novel by Robert Ruark there are generous amounts of melodrama, monologues and detailed descriptions of characters and places that run for several pages at a time. In addition the story is taking place in the late fifties and early sixties so everybody drinks and smokes like their livers and lungs are made of steel. An engrossing read if rather overdone by today's standards. It will also score low on the politically correct scale thanks to the racial attitudes of practically everybody in the novel. An intelligent and well written soap opera is my take on the novel. In many ways it's better written than "Something of Value", but it doesn't have that novel's power. Nevertheless not a bad book. I assigned it nightstand duty which it was more than adequate for, hence the twelve weeks (!) that it took to read it.

[Taru Luojola · Rating 1 out of 5]

”Lise Marteliksesta oli omituista, millä tavalla mustat miehet aina liittoutuivat ja kieroilivat toisiaan vastaan. Hän ei ollut koskaan nähnyt niin katkeraa kilpailua, ei edes pahimpien huorien kesken pahimmissa baareissa, missä hän oli koskaan työskennellyt. Nämä poliitikot olivat pahempia kuin homoseksuellit, aina nokkimassa toistensa silmiä.”

Mm. tämän freeššin tuhnahduksen 1960-luvulta tarjoaa toisen ja kolmannen polven brittisiirtolaisten raskaasta valkoisen miehen taakasta Kenian itsenäisyyden kynnyksellä kertova Uhuru. Kirjassa on suurin piirtein kolmenlaisia mustia henkilöitä: villejä alkuasukkaita, jotka tuskin ovat puusta laskeutuneet, hyväluonteisia ja tottelevaisia palvelijoita sekä vehkeileviä kansankiihottajapoliitikkoja, jotka saavat villit alkuasukkaat ryhtymään julmuuksiin valkoisia ja näiden hyväluontoisia mustia palvelijoita vastaan. Valkoiset sen sijaan ovat lähinnä uhreja.

Enkä olisi tätä tauhkaa lukenut, ellei tätä repaleista nidettä olisi tullut vastaan kirjaston vaihtohyllystä, sillä olihan minulla vielä täytettävänä perjekohta kirja, jonka kannet ovat kokonaan tai osittain irronneet ja hävinneet (jos tarkkoja ollaan, irronnut selkämys ei ole hävinnyt, vaan löytyy kirjan välistä, mutta vuosi on jo näin pitkällä eikä repaleisia kirjoja ole tullut vastaan, niin tyydyin nyt joustamaan haasteen vaatimuksista sen verran). Täyttä struggelitavaraa.

[Costacoralito · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read about the Mau-Mau uprisings in Kenya while the struggle against colonial landholders was taking place. This shows the points of view of both sides and describes, very graphically, the terrorist activities and brutal reprisals. This book will keep you interested. Another five star book that is related is Something of Value by the same author.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uhuru by Robert Ruark (Buccaneer Books 1962) (Fiction). This chronicles in fictional form the events of the ten year period following the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya which Ruark wrote about in his earlier work Something of Value. My rating: 7/10, finished 1983.

[Lex Poot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember this book as my teacher recommended it to me. Back at the time I found it rather long. However some of the content I found interesting. Thus I rate this book in memory of my english teacher.

[Wyktor Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not get into this book as I found it far too long-winded.
As Norman Clegg on Last of The Summer Wine once said, "If at first you don't succeed, pack it in." So I did.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first novel I've read that takes place in Kenyan (also the first that takes place on the African continent, I believe). Therefore I got to experience Kenyan culture through writing (colonial writing) for the first time. Although it is rich in detail and flavor, I can't help but read how the writer (unconsciously) portrays the Kenyans as inferior and sometimes barbaric... Given that this book is already almost 60 yrs old and that it is specked with the n-word, I guess that it was a product of its time. Nevertheless, it makes reading a lot less comfortable.

Another point I thought was kind of disturbing is the male superiority throughout the story. Women are whores, dumbwits or otherwise incapable of progression. The two Kikuyu women of Stephen Ndegwa at some point get the chance to play a meaningful role in the progression of Kenyan women, but it is only marginal, and towards other women, and in the end that chance even falls through. Oh, and yeah, they were actually pretty dumb too.
Kathy Crane and Aunt Charlotte were two women (and guess what, they were white) who were more independent. However, their independence was easily compromised and they couldn't keep standing against male intervention.

Once I got over the fact that this book has outdated world views, it did become an engaging story. The plot is interesting and the pace is just right. Character description is colorful (pun not intended) and dialogues sound natural. I just wish the language used was just ... friendlier, and less vulgar.

[Billy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the political stuff about Kamau, Matesia, and Ndegwa in sort of the middle a bit drawn out and a bit like a political essay, but the leopard part and the DTs parts were excellent. There was lots of deep racism and retribution imbedded on all sides. The end is what took me to 4*s- I wish the US had political leaders who better understood the negative path their quest for political power is taking us on and then were introspective enough and willing enough to make a personally damaging course correction to help to get things on a better track. Brian is the main character, but Ndegwa is the hero.

[Dennis Connolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruark writes with a Hemingway-like flair and style that captures the essence of the transitional period in Kenya's story that set the foundation for the most robust democracy and stable in black Africa. His "Uhuru" has stayed with me for decades.

[John Meilink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keiharde roman over de gruwelijkheden van de onafhankelijkheidsstrijd in Kenia in de jaren zestig. Het boek zou door de huidige generaties met argusogen worden bekeken, denk ik. Maar de schrijver was een kind van zijn tijd. Op het puntje van je stoel.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spannend. Vanuit het colonisator standpunt. Gebaseerd op verhalen die echt gebeurt zijn. Gelukkig zijn de Kenianen 'bevrijd' maar intussen is hun originele goed bestuur door koloniale slechte invloeden teniet gedaan en leeft de bevolking onder een juk van corrupte machtswisselingen .

[Detlef Pahnke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in the 70th, remember the desperation and brutality that was inflicted to and from the people.

[Stick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruark is a fun read. You get to learn some history as well.

[Don Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure this book would get published today. It's probably wildly non PC but for the time it has enormous power and historical perspective.

[David Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

settler society amok - colonialism at its ending - brutal

the ending is amazingly satisfying

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sequel to Something of Value. Independence, or Uhuru, brings disruption in traditional social order, which heretofor placed British residents at the top. Violence still breaks out, as British residents carry on with their farms and businesses. As in Something of Value, sympathies of author tend to weigh in favor of the old order.

[Gan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I especially enjoyed the hunting descriptions with the leopard hunt being the best. The story became like an Ayn Rand novel toward the end with lengthy political speeches and rants by various characters. However, the social and political atmosphere as described in Kenya, was apparently based on truth. My first copy of the book was negligently left on the roof of my car after being half way through story and it was lost. I quickly ordered another copy and a week later finished the book. That should tell you how good I thought the book was.

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Uhuru" - freedom - is the one word most used and abused in Africa today, and it is upon the many highly contradictory individual interpretations of "Uhuru" that Robert Ruark has based this superb novel. He tells the gripping story of a white colonial, Brian Dermott, and his gradual disintegration in the face of the tensions and horror now tearing that continent apart. It is a true story. The characters may be technically fictional, but there is nothing in "Uhuru" that has not happened, is not happening, or will not happen in the near future.

[Sergio GRANDE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kenya; Mau-Mau revolution; bloodthirsty Kikuyus; scared White settlers; vicious attacks; blah, blah, blah...
A fictionalized account of one of Africa's bloodiest transitions that struck fear in the heart of White people for decades. "Uhuru" (Freedom) became possibly the most feared word for White folk South of Kenya from its publication, in 1962, right through the 70s. From the mid 70s onwards, White people learnt other words like Soweto, Amandla and Mayibuye and then the tragic years started.

[Don Heiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Uhuru" by Robert Ruark was published in 1962 one year before Kenya declared independence after 75 years of British colonial rule. This fictional account chronicles racial bias, tribal values, and political unrest. "Uhuru" means freedom. Today Kenya still experiences residual effects of the Mau Mau civil war profiled in Ruark's book.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an African colonial classic in my mind. Fiction but it may as well be a true story the way it is told has a very realistic feel to it. It is quite long and hard to get into initially but once you do it's hard to stop. If not for the initial dense-ness I would have rated it even higher.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of political books whether espionage, revolution, or gossip but this book I remember with pleasure 50 years later.

This is a book I carried around the house reading - while ironing - in the bathroom - etc.

An oldie but well worth the read!

[David Jarrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chronicle of the events and the politics following the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya during the 1950s and early 1960s. Not as good as Ruark's SOMETHING OF VALUE, but worth reading in order to understand both sides of this explosive issue.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fiction work around the time of Kenyan independence. Anyone interested in Kenyan history, or the time of Independence in any African countries would like this.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad handed me this book when I was a freshman in high school and told me to read it. I did. It was fascinating, terrifying, you name it. Great book.