It's Our Turn to Eat - The Story of a Kenyan Whistle-blower

In January 2003 Kenya was hailed as a model of democracy, following the peaceful election of its new president, Mwai Kibaki. By appointing respected reformer John Githongo as anticorruption czar, the new Kikuyu government signaled its determination to end the corrupt practices that had tainted the previous regime. Yet only two years later, Githongo himself was on the run, having secretly compiled evidence of official malfeasance throughout the new administration. Unable to remain silent, Githongo, at great personal risk, made the painful choice to go public. The result was a Kenyan Watergate. Michela Wrong''s account of how a pillar of the establishment turned whistle-blower, becoming simultaneously one of the most hated and admired men in Kenya, is a real-life political thriller that explores the problems that continue to plague Africa - tribal favoritism, government corruption, and the smug complacency of Western donor nations. Michela Wrong began her career as a foreign correspondent for the Reuters news agency. She spent six years covering the African continent for Reuters, the BBC, and the Financial Times. Her first book, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu''s Congo, won a PEN award for nonfiction and was a New York Times Notable Book. She currently lives in London, and travels regularly to Africa. ''A fast-paced political thriller - with echoes of Graham Greene and John le Carre ... Wrong''s gripping, thoughtful book stands as both a tribute to Githongo''s courage and a cautionary tale about the dangers of challenging a thoroughly corrupted system.'' - New York Times Book Review

About the author

Michela Wrong has worked as a foreign correspondent for Reuters, the BBC, and the Financial Times. She has written about Africa for Slate.com and is a frequent commentator on African affairs in the media. Her first book, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz, won the James Stern Silver Pen Award for Nonfiction. She lives in London.

Product details

• Authors: Michela Wrong
• Publisher: Harper Perennial USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 08.06.2010
• EAN: 9780061346590
• ISBN: 978-0-06-134659-0
• No. of pages: 368
• Dimensions: 135 mm x 205 mm x 23 mm
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Biographies, autobiographies; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > General, dictionaries; Geopolitics, Africa, HISTORY / World, East Africa, Kenya, social and political philosophy, History of Science, Comparative Politics, Politics and government, Travel and holiday, HISTORY: WORLD, HISTORY: Social History, POLITICAL SCIENCE: General, POLITICAL SCIENCE: World / General, HISTORY: ETHNIC, POLITICAL SCIENCE: Comparative Politics, POLITICAL SCIENCE: Geopolitics, HISTORY: Africa / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE: Women in Politics, HISTORY: Africa / East, History / Ethnic