Kenya has a long and complex history that began thousands of years ago. Indeed, some archaeologists contend that the country was the "cradle of mankind" or, at the very least, one of the places that was home to the earliest hominids. In later centuries, Kenya's strategic location astride the Indian Ocean and the East African littoral attracted numerous foreign peoples, some of the most significant of which have been the Americans, Arabs, British, Chinese, French, Germans, and Portuguese. Additionally, Africans from throughout the subcontinent have settled in Kenya to escape conflict or political persecution, while others wanted an opportunity to begin a new life. As a result of being a gateway to the world, the country traditionally has been one of the most important business, cultural, diplomatic, and political centers in Africa. Although it has maintained this reputation during the post-independence period, Kenya, like most African countries, has been plagued by an increasing array of complex economic, political, and social problems. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Kenya provides a starting point for those interested in any of the phases of Kenya's historical evolution. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has 500 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Kenya.

In this third edition of "East Africa: An Introductory History," Robert M. Maxon revisits the diverse eastern region of Africa, including the modern nations of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. With revised sections and a new preface, this comprehensive text surveys East Africa's political, economic, and social history from pre-colonial to modern times. Maxon reveals the physical movement and societal development of and between ethnic groups before the 1890s; the capitalistic impact of European colonialism in the early nineteenth century; and the achievement and aftermath of independence in East Africa during the later part of this century.

"East Africa: An Introductory History, 3rd and Revised Edition" offers the student and scholar:

- the only revision of this title in over a decade
- a complete index and glossary of African terms that promote an effortless navigation of the complex history of this region
- over twenty maps and diagrams that provide visual depictions of the development of eastern Africa
- detailed geographical and topographical analysis that supplement the historical scope and investigation of this region
"East Africa: An Introductory History" documents the transformation of East Africa from the Stone Age to the first decade of the twenty-first century. The book is ideal for any reader interested in unraveling the intricate history of this East Africa, and especially for students coming to the study of this region for the first time.

In A Tapestry of African Histories: With Longer Times and Wider Geopolitics, contributors demonstrate that African historians are neither comfortable nor content with studying continental or global geopolitical, social, and economic events across the superficial divide of time as if they were disparate or disconnected. Instead, the chapters within the volume reevaluate African history through a geopolitically transcendent lens that brings African countries into conversation with other pertinent histories both within and outside of the continent. The collection analyzes the pre- and post-colonial eras within African countries such as Kenya, Malawi, and Sudan, examining major historical figures and events, struggles for independence and stability, contemporary urban settlements, social and economic development, as well as constitutional, legal, and human rights issues that began in the colonial era and persist to this day.

Mau Mau Crucible of War is a study of the social and cultural history of the mentalite of struggle in Kenya, which reached a high water mark during the Mau Mau war of the 1950s, but which continues to resonate in Kenya today in the ongoing demand for a decent standard of living and social justice for all. This work catalyzes intellectual debate in various disciplines regarding not just the evolution of the Kenyan state, but also, the state in Africa. It not only engages historians of colonial and postcolonial economic and political history, but also sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, and those who study personality and social branches of psychology, postcolonialism and postmodernity, social movements, armed conflict specialists, and conflict resolution analysts.