'Excellent.' Evening Standard

'Unforgettable.' Observer

'Magnificent.' Daily Telegraph

A twist of fate meant Nicholas Rankin spent his childhood in colonial Kenya, a white boy growing up in black Africa as British rule was ending. Decades later, he began to question the past. Trapped in History is a search for nuanced truth behind the propaganda, a post-colonial story with a close-up view of the terror and pity of empire.

'A wholly fascinating and engaging memoir that also functions as a shrewd and brilliant investigation of a still hugely controversial period of Africa's twentieth century history.' William Boyd

Nicholas Rankin worked for BBC World Service for twenty years, winning two UN awards and becoming Chief Producer. His previous books include biographies of Robert Louis Stevenson and the war correspondent George Steer; Churchill's Wizards, a study of camouflage, deception and black propaganda in both world wars; and Ian Fleming's Commandos, the story of a British naval intelligence unit. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and is on the board of the Society of Authors.