4/5

The author’s left leaning analysis of both British Imperialism and Jihadist-reaction was refreshing after reading some less ideological writing this year. While I can’t say I buy the entire argument about the significance of Islamist ‘liberal’ reformers in the 1880s, I found the through line from the anti-slavery campaigns of the mid 19th century to the ‘small wars’ of the Age of Imperialism to be quite compelling. This book is chiefly about East Africa and Sudan, which was a bit of a curve-ball given the title but one I enjoyed never-the-less.