Travel Tips: Further Reading
Dreams in a Time of War by Ngugi Wa Thiong’o. Autobiographic account of his Gikuyu childhood by Kenya’s most renowned novelist.
Facing Mount Kenya by Jomo Kenyatta. Insightful account of traditional Gikuyu culture by the first president of independent Kenya.
Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley. A collection of wonderfully told tales about the author’s childhood in East Africa.
Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain’s Gulag in Kenya by Caroline Elkins. Controversial Pulitzer-winning account of the Mau-Mau era.
I Wish I Could Say I Was Sorry by Susie Kelly. Published in 2014, remarkable memoirs of a British woman’s 1950s childhood in Kenya.
It’s Our Turn to Eat by Michela Wrong. The story of the journalist John Githongo and his fight against corruption.
Kenya: A Country in the Making 1880–1940 by Nigel Pavitt. Absorbing collection of 700 monochrome photos from the early colonial era, enhanced by the lengthy and insightful captions.
The Life and Death of Lord Erroll by Errol Trzebenski. This vivid account of the murder documented in the movie White Mischief was reissued in 2011.
Lunatic Express by Charles Miller. The story of the building of the railway from Mombasa to Uganda.
Maasai by Tepilit Ole Saitoti and Carol Beckwith. Fascinating text and photos by one of the world’s top ethnographic photographers add up to an illuminating and beautiful package.
Out of Africa by Karen Blixen. The famous autobiographic account of Blixen’s life in Kenya during the early 1900s, which inspired the Oscar-winning film of the same name.
Unbowed by Wangari Maathai. Engaging autobiography of the Nobel Laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement.
West With The Night by Beryl Markham. Fascinating memoirs of the legendary aviator.
Fiction
Discovering Home by Binyavanga Wainaina. This novella, written by Nakuru-born Wainana when he was still in his 20s, won him the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2002.
Going Down River Road by Meja Mwangi. Award-winning novel set in Nairobi’s notorious River Road district following independence.
Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Controversial 1970s novel whose cutting political commentary is thinly veiled behind the trappings of a whodunnit set in a small village.
The River and the Source by Margaret Ogola. Published in 1995, this multiple award-winning novel traces the story of three generations of Luo women.
Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi Wa Thiong’o. Arguably the crowning achievement of Kenya’s greatest novelist, this hefty 700-page tome, set in the fictional republic of Aburiria, is a damning indictment of the hypocrisy and greed of many modern African leaders.
Wildlife and natural history
Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania by Dale Zimmerman, Don Turner and David Pearson. The best single-volume field guide to Kenya’s birds.
Born Free: The Full Story by Joy Adamson. Expanded 50th anniversary edition of the classic account of Adamson’s attempt to reintroduce the hand-reared lioness Elsa into the wild.
The End of the Game by Peter Beard. Dramatic photographs and story telling of the history – and uncertain future – of Kenya’s wildlife, originally published in the 1960s but reprinted in 2008.
Field Guide to Common Trees and Shrubs of East Africa by Najma Dharani. Useful starter’s guide to the bemusing variety of trees that flourish in Kenya.
Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Terry Stevenson and John Fanshawe. Another excellent field guide whose coverage extends to Tanzania and Uganda.
Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa by Stephen Spawls, Kim Howell, Robert Drewes and James Ashe. Magnificent albeit rather esoteric guide to every reptile species recorded in East Africa.
Kenya By Michael Poliza. Possibly the most stunning photography book about Kenya’s wildlife ever produced.
Mara Serengeti: A Photographer’s Paradise by Jonathan and Angela Scott. Lavish coffee-table-style introduction to the region’s wildlife.
Pocket Guide to African Mammals by Jonathan Kingdon. A compact, inexpensive but authoritative field guide aimed at novice safari-goers.
The Safari Companion by Richard Estes. This informative guide to mammalian behaviour covers most species likely to be seen on a Kenyan safari.
Stars of Big Cat Diary by Jonathan and Angela Scott. Winning pictorial account of the Mara residents made famous by the popular BBC series Big Cat Diaries.