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The Last Colony

A Tale of Exile, Justice and Britain’s Colonial Legacy

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The Last Colony

By: Philippe Sands, Martin Rowson - illustrator
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh, Philippe Sands
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About this listen

FROM THE WINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE and author of EAST WEST STREET

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'Should be read by anyone who cares about justice, humanity and human rights' Elif Shafak
'An essential account' Sunday Times
'Powerful and persuasive . . . superb' Abdulrazak Gurnah
'An urgent reminder that Britain's colonial rule isn't our past. It's our present' New Statesman
'An important [book]' Observer
'Elegant, moving and profoundly informative' The Scotsman

Through one woman's fight for justice, the award-winning author of East West Street exposes the shocking events that marked the 1965 establishment of the British Indian Ocean Territory. Written with Sands' characteristic expertise, insight and thrilling storytelling, The Last Colony lays bare the brutal legacy of colonial rule, the devastating impact of Britain's grip on its last colony in Africa and the ongoing struggle to right a historic wrong.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Philippe Sands (P)2022 Weidenfeld & Nicolson Colonialism & Post-Colonialism Europe Great Britain Law Politics & Government Colonial Period Africa

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The British empire (and everything bad about it) lives on in this tiny group of islands in the Indian Ocean. From Harold Wilson to Boris Johnson, the injustice drags on. Makes you ashamed to be British.

The empire lives on ...

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Fantastic book, thoroughly enjoyed it. How to pursue justice through international law. Philippe Sands knows how to tell a story.

One of the best

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Philippe Sands has written estimable books about human rights and breaches of them. This one concerns the little known expulsion of the Chagos Islanders from their home by the UK government with the connivance of the USA which wanted a desert island on which to establish a military base. He has been personally involved in the islanders’ attempts to gain the right in law to return. Politicians of both dominant parties in the UK have opposed that and even ignored court rulings. (Once their efforts to claim nobody has any power to challenge the status quo have failed!) Sands narrates much of the book, and he has the voice of the eminent lawyer which he is. Recently UK has said it will finally negotiate with Mauritius- perhaps don’t hold your breath!!!

An account of long injustice

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Quite simply an exceptional book. This should be listened to by all; particularly those that are British. Excellent narration. I cannot speak highly enough of this audiobook.

Informative, emotional, an outstanding listen

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Just read this, seriously. it's such an important story and one we should all have known years ago. If you are here and wondering if this is for you and why you know nothing about the Chagos islanders then I implore you to give this book a listen, you won't forget them afterwards. The presentation here is fantastic by both the author and actress reading, they've even consulted on pronunciation unlike every other audible book! Not only of great historical importance but bang up to date the crimes and arrogance of the British Empire persists. I am buying this for everyone I know.

The further crimes of the British Empire

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Two things stand out:
1. Non-fiction can be told in an interesting intriguing and passionate way, so this is as riveting as many a novel.
2. Britain hasn't changed, it's still conniving, cunning, ruthless, immoral, and not only twists the narrative to suit its own aims, but lies lies lies.
A liar no longer knows what the truth is. And the latest imperialist empire lie: It's not the fault of Brexit that the UK is going down the swanny.
If you want to know the depths the UK will go to, listen to this amazing account.

For a non-fiction book, it reads like a novel

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This book make the reader understand why the developing world/global south/non aligned are pulling away from the colonial powers who have in the past and are currently disregarding sovereign nations rights.

Gripping accounts of colonial powers disregard of international law

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First, this is a really good book. It is gripping and brings the impact of colonialism, imperialism and international law to life.

My only small gripe was when the story of Madame Elyse was told it was in a really bad French accent - it was like listening to ‘Allo ‘Allo. It was really off putting.

Great story

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This is another great book by Philippe Sands. Sands tells an important story by weaving historical events together with legal developments in a way which is comprehensive but also comprehensible.

This audiobook is massively let down by the narration, though. The parts narrated by the author himself are good, but I really did not get on with the performance of the person who narrates the majority of the book. I wish she had narrated in her own voice rather than trying - and unfortunately failing - to pull off the many accents called for in the book. The 'Allo 'Allo style accents really broke the immersion in the story for me. In addition, she read every utterance from the 'baddies' of the piece as though they were cardboard villains. Evil and administrative evil are often banal; trying to portray everyone as a supercilious, stereotypical toff undermined the power of the words Sands wrote and the story he was trying to tell in my opinion. At points I found it hard to continue listening because the narration was so off-putting.

An important story let down by the narration

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