Matatu: A History of Popular Transportation in Nairobi
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.46 (854 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 022647139X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 352 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-06-12 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
These remarkable vehicles are the veins and arteries of Nairobi, just as their counterparts are in cities throughout the rest of Africa and much of the world’s South. “Not only is this a fascinating, multidimensional piece of scholarship, it focuses our attention on an industry that is distinctively homegrown and locally-owned. Yet I have never seen them, their drivers, their passengers, and the culture around them written about in such a clear and thoughtful way.”
Offering a shining model of interdisciplinary analysis, Mutongi mixes historical, ethnographic, literary, linguistic, and economic approaches to tell the story of the matatu and explore the entrepreneurial aesthetics of the postcolonial world. In this richly interdisciplinary book, Kenda Mutongi explores the history of the matatu from the 1960s to the present. Drive the streets of Nairobi, and you are sure to see many matatus—colorful minibuses that transport huge numbers of people around the city. Once ramshackle affairs held together with duct tape and wire, matatus today are name-brand vehicles maxed out with a