Drums of Rebellion
Kenya in Chaos
Night falls at six o'clock on the equator. Light from several fires flickers in the glade, illuminating the labourers' faces, and casting silhouettes onto the tents. It's November 3, 1952, barely two week after martial law was imposed on Kenya, and Gordon is isolated on the Mau escarpment with a handpicked workforce of Kikuyu from Nairobi. His assignment is to cut a track through thick bamboo to the top of Loldiani Mountain, and set up a test repeater site with Gemba Mountain in South Nyanza.
As he sits outside his tent, his workers are camped about thirty feet away. The sound of their laughter and chatter are somewhat reassuring, but he feels alone, alone and vulnerable. What protection would he actually have if these superstitious people have taken a Mau Mau oath? What would happen if a Mau Mau gang attacks the small encampment? Would these men come to his aid, or would they join in the slaughter? An involuntary shiver runs up his spine
***
Bored and restless after his wartime experiences, Gordon came to Kenya in 1949 looking for adventure. Employed as an assistant engineer, he was one "Mac's Boys" - five young men working on the VHF radio repeater survey project. But in 1952, he was to face more excitement than he had bargained on.
Creatively written, the books are an informal history of life in East Africa in the nineteen-fifties. This was the beginning of the end of the British Empire, and African nations moved towards independence. Drums of Rebellion - the second book about East Africa in this period - shows Kenya during Mau Mau. The African tribes fight against each other, the settlers and the colonial government, during the struggle to free themselves from a colonial status. White Man's Drum is Part One.
Click Here for Reviews | Click here for Excerpt.
215 pages with 36 photographs, 11 maps, and a bibliography.
ISBN: 0973629711 | 6" x 9" | 215 pages, photos, maps, and bibliography | $24.95 CDN
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Reviews
The stories are well-written 'personal accounts' in the style of Edward Rodwell of Mombasa Coast Causerie fame. Gordon has paid strict attention to geographical detail, solid technical research and a vivid imagination, coupled with the creative use of Swahili in his dialogue, making the two books very African and honest; they tell of things the way they were. [He is] a very talented writer.
M.R.A. Hotten, in The Overseas Pensioner
Drums of Rebellion gave me an understanding of how the white person felt during the Mau Mau rebellion. I think you did an excellent job on this story--good dialogue, some hints on how things might unfold in your next book, great descriptions.
Sandra Harper, author of Inside Kenya: Creating Tomorrow
A very interesting and enjoyable book. Highly recommended.
Len Weaver, in Buffalo Barua: Kenya Regiment Association
Excerpt:
Awakened by the early morning sunlight, I slip out of my bed, bleary-eyed but thankful to see the dawn. About an hour later, Eric and I are sitting under the tent veranda, drinking coffee, while a frying pan with eggs and bacon cooks on the Primus stove, the fat spitting and spluttering.
Suddenly three men, armed with Sten guns and rifles and wearing British army fatigues, appear on the track from the base camp. Instinctively, I feel that they're bringing bad news; what else could they bring at such a time. They halt momentarily, their weapons at the ready, and then move towards us.
As they approach, we stand up. One of the men hails us, and from his accent I know that he is from the north of England. Recognizing the dull gold fusilier badge on their bush hats, I realize that they are Lancashire Fusiliers. The meeting is brief, and they decline our invitation to share our breakfast.
"A terrorist gang attacked Black's farm last night," the corporal, a man in his mid-twenties, says. "They were able to hold off the attackers until we arrived. Black and his family are okay, but some of his men have been injured. We tracked the gang to your labour camp during the night."
Stunned by this revelation, Eric and I can only listen in disbelief as the corporal continues. "Aye, man, you're bloody lucky we were close on their asses," he says. " You wouldn't have stood a bloody chance if they'd come for you. That gang was well-armed." Pausing, the corporal scratches his head. "Anyway, what the hell are you two doing out here in this bloody, godforsaken place?"
