The last fifty years are a historical minefield, and in modern Kenya writing history can be more than the pleasantly subversive activity advocated by post-modernists. The authors have the necessary qualities and they have produced the kind of history which urgently needs writing - and reading - in Kenya ... . If their historical vision is true, Kenya may yet see better days again. In the West, historians have become resigned to being ignored and irrelevant. A book like this reminds us that we too may have responsibilities and duties beyond the academic department and the promotion committee.

• Part 1 The decolonization of Kenya: a theoretical perspective, W.O. Maloba; the formative years, 1945-55, Atieno Odhiambo; the decisive years, 1955-63, B.A. Ogot. Part 2 The Kenyatta era 1963-78: structural and political change under Kenyatta, 1963-78, William Ochieng'; social and cultural change, Robert Maxon. Part 3 The first Nyayo decade 1978-88: the economics of structural adjustment, Robert Maxon and Peter Ndege; the politics of populism, B.A. Ogot; the construction of a national culture, William Ochieng'; bibliography on the literature of decolonization, William Ochieng'. Part 4 Epilogue: transition from single-party to multi-party political system, 1989-1993.

The last fifty years are a historical minefield, and in modern Kenya writing history can be more than the pleasantly subversive activity advocated by post-modernists. The authors have the necessary qualities and they have produced the kind of history which urgently needs writing - and reading - in Kenya ... . If their historical vision is true, Kenya may yet see better days again. In the West, historians have become resigned to being ignored and irrelevant. A book like this reminds us that we too may have responsibilities and duties beyond the academic department and the promotion committee.

• Part 1 The decolonization of Kenya: a theoretical perspective, W.O. Maloba; the formative years, 1945-55, Atieno Odhiambo; the decisive years, 1955-63, B.A. Ogot. Part 2 The Kenyatta era 1963-78: structural and political change under Kenyatta, 1963-78, William Ochieng'; social and cultural change, Robert Maxon. Part 3 The first Nyayo decade 1978-88: the economics of structural adjustment, Robert Maxon and Peter Ndege; the politics of populism, B.A. Ogot; the construction of a national culture, William Ochieng'; bibliography on the literature of decolonization, William Ochieng'. Part 4 Epilogue: transition from single-party to multi-party political system, 1989-1993.