Researcher and co-author of ‘Kremlin’s Renewed Interest: Russia’s Emerging Threat to Elections in Africa’, Tabitha Mwangi, is sceptical about foreign interest in Africa: ‘Having experienced colonialism, African countries need to be careful in their relations with external powers, knowing well that their interactions will always have peace and security implications.’
First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.
Our questions are italicized.
What books or kinds of books did you read growing up?
There were always many books in my house as I was growing up because my mother would buy books and radio cassettes each month, a trait that I seem to have picked up with the exception being that the internet has replaced radio cassettes. Also, being a Presbyterian Reverend’s daughter my house was full of books on theology which my dad often brought home. As such, I often read Bible commentaries and books on Church History, although there were a few classics.
Some of the most memorable titles were Thomas Moore’s Utopia, Maria Von Trapp’s When the King was a Carpenter, Stephen Mansfield’s Men of Fire, C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity, Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, Francis D. Imbuga’s Betrayal in the City, and Carolyn Custis James’ Lost Women of the Bible. And of course, I was one of the many kids who read Ben Carson’s books and aspired to be a neurosurgeon, which I am glad I didn’t become.
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