The Last Colony

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.

Philippe Sands is Professor of Law at UCL and a practising barrister at Matrix Chambers. He has been involved in many of the most important international cases of recent years, including Pinochet, Congo, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Iraq, Guantanamo and the Rohingya. He is the author of LAWLESS, TORTURE TEAM, EAST WEST STREET, which won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction, and Sunday Times bestselling THE RATLINE. He is a contributor to the Financial Times, Guardian, New York Review of Books and Vanity Fair, and makes regular appearances on radio and television. He is President of English PEN and a member of the board of the Hay Festival.