Terrace, BC, Canada, Dec. 06, 2013 - A military memoir detailing the wartime atrocities perpetrated by the British military against its colonies has been selected by Harvard University. Retired journalist and historian J. J. Hespeler-Boultbee's book Mrs. Queen's Chump: Idi Amin, the Mau Mau, Communists, and Other Silly Follies of the British Empire was chosen by Harvard's Professor Caroline Elkins for her fall semester course entitled British Colonial Violence in the 20th Century.
Hespeler-Boultbee reveals how as a young man he found himself enmeshed in the agonies of subjugated peoples caught in the turmoil of a collapsing British Empire and demanding restoration of their dignity and rightful human freedoms. In stories that are sometimes funny, sometimes frightening, yet somehow tinged with the sadness that always jolts the loss of innocence, the author tells of experiences as an infantry officer fighting in the jungles of both Kenya and Malaya. He further details the horrific lengths to which the British went to identify those who were deemed to be enemies of the state, including details of atrocities committed during the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya.
The process is illustrated, in part, by the image on the book's cover showing a barefooted suspect beside an armed soldier standing in front of two hooded individuals seated in a jeep, eerily reminiscent of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK). This identification process not only included interrogations and torture, but also going so far as to cut off hands and other body parts. Additional photos are provided within the text itself.
Relatives of those affected by these wartime atrocities have been in the British courts seeking to hold the government responsible and to obtain compensation. During the summer of 2013 their efforts proved fruitful with a 20 million GBP (British Pound) payout and apology from the Foreign Secretary, William Hague.
The initial disease was Empire Myopia. Within a short time, and like Kurtz in Heart of Darkness, the British who had come to impose order themselves succumbed to an Idi Amin-like dementia that tumbled the whole wretched Empire to its knees.
Don't let this chapter in history go unnoticed or be forgotten by getting your copy of Mrs. Queen's Chump today.
Released in both paperback and e-book editions, Mrs. Queen's Chump is available for purchase from Amazon and many other fine book retailers worldwide.
Jeremy Hespeler-Boultbee is a retired journalist, formerly with Maclean's magazine, and a historian. He is available for interviews.
About CCB Publishing:
CCB Publishing is a Canadian publishing house based in Terrace, British Columbia. CCB Publishing, working with authors from many different countries around the world, has been publishing books in print and e-book formats since 2005 and has over 250 titles in print across a wide variety of genres in both fiction and non-fiction.
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Email:info@ccbpublishing.com
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City: Terrace
State: BC
Country: Canada
Website: http://www.ccbpublishing.com/9781771430296.html
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