43. The Last King of Scotland

43. The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden (1/15/12 - 1/26/12)

I absolutely loved this book.  Having been born in the late eighties, raised largely in the nineties, and having reached some level of self-awareness and world-awareness by the early 2000s, I knew nothing about Idi Amin Dada. (In all of the surprisingly many world history classes I've taken, contemporary African history never seems  to be covered very well, if at all, so this book and the research I did while reading it were the first times I encountered the story of this Ugandan dictator.)

The book is written as Garrigan's reflections on his time in Africa from a far-distant future.  The world of Nicholas Garrigan as he moves from the UK into the middle of nowhere in Uganda is totally, 100% believable at all times; the horrors he describes treating, the violence he witnesses, and the absolute absurdity of Amin Dada's rule are all perfectly written.  Garrigan is a thoroughly likable character, and one whose desires to help the poor of Africa while still being pretty self-centered are extremely empathetic.  After all, while I can't speak for everyone, I know that while I want to help people, I would have trouble adjusting to a living in a hut and working in a super dangerous disease-ridden hospital.

And even though some of the things he does are somewhat despicable, I still liked his character.  The ultimate plot of the book is how Garrigan became and served as Amin's personal doctor for the final years of his regime.  Garrigan is basically forced into this service; Amin was a dictator so obviously he is not easy to say "no" to, not if you wanted to live.  So Garrigan becomes his doctor, treating a wide variety of real and imagined ailments in both the dictator and his family.  But before too long, Amin's dictatorship starts to decay and Garrigan finds himself on the run from both Amin's personal vendetta against him and the Tanzanian forces that are trying to remove Amin from power.

I sincerely think that this may be one of the best books I've ever read. Garrigan is an incredibly empathetic character; even in the moments when I absolutely hated him, when I wanted to kick him, I still understood exactly why he was doing what he was doing and could feel how scared he was.

If you have any interest in African history -- and really, even if you don't -- read this book. It will blow you away.