In his book, Facing Mount Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta establishes the history and culture of the Gikuyu society. Articulated from an African perspective, the book demonstrations both the rich culture of the Gikuyu society, and even the threats of European impact over a population of people whose whole lives are centered on social customs and religious ideas. He defends the African customs and troubles the British dominated in Kenya. Certain points are cited throughout his reading with respect to the explanation of Gikuyu society. Oral tradition, family clan, age grouping, marriage, religion and sexuality play a reflective role in the lives of the Gikuyu culture. Kenyatta discovers the British taking advantage of the work-force the Gikuyu provide. He additional states that the British took away their right to religion and has described them as an uncivilized and sluggish society. Kenyatta explains that the British took away their right to religion and has described them as an uncivilized and sluggish society. He states that oral custom is a vital trait that a young child in the Gikuyu culture acquires from his birth. Writing and reading were not ideal abilities since the oral tradition permitted the child to grow and adapt to this type of personality. The child was directed through the teachings of his parents so that one day he or her may be able to carry this tradition to their offspring. Folklore, tribal dances, tribal customs, and farming were all taught orally and through hands-on skills. The concept of family clan and age grouping gave the child status and he was nothing without this resource. The family clan consisted of the immediate family within a man and his wife or wives and children. The division of labor and land was all strategically planned out according to sex. Men were given specific duties within the household and in the fields as well as women. Religion is also explained, and a contrast of ancestor worship and the worship of God is made to clarify the use of each within the Gikuyu society. Kenyatta also explains here how the influence of the Christian missionary has confused the Gikuyu, and why the Gikuyu foundation of life is damaged by Christian ideas. He also explains that the new religions of Africa, knows as the Watch Tower Movement, is a response to such conflicts of ideas, and he discusses how the group has grown, and the significances of their power over the people. Kenyatta also argues the use of magic within the Gikuyu nation, and the power of medicine men, or healers. Kenyatta concludes with a discussion of the dangers of European influence, a call for understanding of Gikuyu customs and laws, and an urging for all who seek to help the Gikuyu to first learn their culture, history, and social customs in an effort to allow for progress without a loss of individuality and cultural identity. In addition, Kenyatta describes the notorious topic of “clitoridectomy”, and deliberates its use and place within the Gikuyu tribe. He also discusses the passage of adolescent men and women through the many stages of initiation as they become productive members of society, and clarifies what each new stage means to the young men and women. Sexual relations are explained in detail, as are marriage ceremonies and rites of passage. The most distressing passages for a reader like me, involved female genital mutilation, a practice that Kenyatta proclaims as an absolute vital to Gikuyu life. He defines the process in detail, noting that a woman with an intact clitoris is a pariah in Gikuyu society. Definitely even more disturbing than Kenyatta’s explanation is his lack of actual rational justification for the practice. Readers questioning will still be wondering; its immensity, it seems, is justification enough. Kenyatta devotes as much time on the surgical initiation of young adolescents as he does on any other concern. Facing this cruel reality is unpleasant, but any student of African history and culture must accept. Facing Mount Kenya is one of the first really knowledgeable contributions to African ethnography by a scholar of pure African Heritage. Through his education Jomo Kenyatta combines to an unusual extent the knowledge of Western ways and Western modes of thought with a training and outlook essentially African. Facing Mount Kenya is a central document of the highest distinction in anthropological literature, an invaluable key to the structure of African society and the nature of the African mind. This novel is not only a formal study of life and death, work and play, sex and the family in one of the greatest tribes of contemporary Africa, but a work of considerable literary merit. The very sight and sound of Gikuyu tribal life presented here are at once comprehensive and intimate, and as precise as they are compassionate.