Ogada

Book excerpt: This is a masterfully composed story of an American "missionary kid" growing up amongst the Luo people in Kenya, attending a boarding school in the midst of the "Mau Mau Emergency" and straddling diverse cultures on two continents. Skoda is an extraordinarily keen observer with great intellectual curiosity amd verbal dexterity. The end result is beautiful prose which intertwines deeply personal experiences with detailed historical,geographic and cultural information. In closing, Skoda rewards the reader with "A Code of Behavior" and "A Declaration of Rights" designed for universal application. To refer to this book only as a personal memoir is to minimize the daring scope of its content, yet it is Skoda's personality and personal life experiences that enhance every page.