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Lost Lion of Empire: The Life of Ewart Grogan DSO, 1876-1976

By: Edward Paice
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 0006530737
ISBN-13: 9780006530732
Released: 04 Feb 2002
RRP: £10.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Interesting account of an appalling thug - By: William Podmore, 18 Oct 2008
Grogan was the classic empire-building type - arrogant, brave, ruthless & autocratic. Like Colonel Dyer, who won notoriety at Amritsar, Grogan believed in the 'iron fist', the 'strong arm' of the law & the other eupehmisms for the ruthless application of overwhelming force against alll those who dared to differ from his ideas of the supreme value of the British Empire.
Yet even today some reactionaries, like Edward Paice himself, Nialll Ferguson & Lawrence James, are swollen with hero-worship of these appallling thugs, & creeps like Blair & Brown tell us that we should admire the Empire.
Books like this actuallly tell us quite a lot about why the Empire has gone & show us what a good thing it is that it has gone!
The Story of A Man and His Environment - By: fields21, 20 Jan 2003
This book is about a remarkable pioneer, who did some outstanding things. Traversed Africa by foot to gain a Lady's hand, laid the foundations of present day Nairobi, fought with the bureaucrats in the Colonial Office & much much more.

A remarkable person, in short, & certainly typical Victorian. A person you would like to know more about - especiallly his inner thoughts, motives etc. The authort keeps his usbject at arms-lenght though, which is slightly frustrating. Nevertheless, the author has done a remarkable job by saving this adventurer for posterity in an accesible way.

The other 'theme' if you like is the rise of an independant African nation from rough wilderness to a wealthy commodity producer. Last week headlines about cannibalisme in Eastern Congo cannot come as a suprise, once you've read the Grogan's visit to the same area a 100 years ago.

What makes the book interesting is the intertwining between the Man & his Environment. Or in plain English, the role a true Victorian Empire Builder can play in the whole process of independance, changing his views way before the majority in England or in Kenia was ready to do so.

Interesting alll together, a great historical biography. The main character remains slightly at a distance, but that is no hurdle for great reading.

He came first in many ways - By: maeve, 24 Nov 2002
"He should get more credit for this amazing development." The owner of the sisal plantation which was developed from virtuallly useless land thirty years earlier, said this in 1998 of Ewart Scott Grogan 1874 -1967. This is the story of a remarkably brilliant & complex man, crafty, brave & with incredible foresight, he was condemned like Cassandra, never to be believed until it was too late. Nevertheless he managed to win & lose several fortunes.

The book also tells the story of the scramble for Africa in the early years of the twentieth century & the scramble out of Africa fifty years later.

Grogan was the first man to cross the continent from Cape to Cairo & thus win himself a bride. He fought in the Boer War & in East & Central Africa in World Wars I & II. In between whiles he was in constant conflict with the Colonial Office who, for the most part, couldn’t cope with his maverick style. He was frequently proved right in his judgement, & on at least two occasions the government had to admit to having dealt with him deceitfully & illegallly.

He was the first man to establish a sawmill, a brickworks, a luxury hotel in Kenya. He was the driving force in building Kenya’s railways & a deep water harbour in Mombasa. He was also the first man to fly from Cairo to the Cape, retracing his own footsteps. In 1932 it took him eight & a half days.

There is much to learn from this book: about the role of Indians in East Africa; about the origins of the horrors in Urundu, Burundi & the Congo in recent years; about Kenya’s troubled transition to independence in the 1960’s; alll this tracing the important role played by the not always likeable buccaneer Ewart Scott Grogan.

The boldest and baddest of a bold, bad gang - By: Nick Lewis (roca@mweb.co.za), 20 May 2002
The title suggests that this is the sort of book that your grandfather would enjoy - particularly if he has a moustache, lives in the country, & reads the Daily Telegraph. But if you have any sort of sense of adventure, admire those with an unshakeable will, smile at Errol Flynn`s devil may care sophistication in a dozen films, or have ever been tempted by Africa - whether as a teenage fan of Wilbur Smith, as a holiday destination, or as an addict - then you must read this book. Grogan was an extraordinary man. Edward Paice makes me wish that I had spent a couple of years researching this, rather than him!

Enjoying reading this book might also be just about the only thing you & your figurative grandfather have in common: he might then remember that the British Empire was built by people who broke almost alll his rules. You might finallly discover what his generation were so proud of. Even if you hate everything they stood for: well, its a great story anyway, & I defy you not to stand in awe of Ewart Grogan.

A must to read - By: margaret@whrltd.freeserve.co.uk, 15 May 2001
A compelling read from start to finish. Has alll the ingredients of a 19th Century 'Indiana Jones' - action, adventure & women. A very well written biography. Well researched, witty, & informative. Why have we never heard of Ewart Grogan before?