The protagonist is a fictional character named Nicholas Garrigan, a young Scottish doctor who goes to work in Uganda out of a sense of idealism and adventure, arriving on the day of the See more

Drawing on his twenty years of living in Africa and his background as a journalist, Foden researched the events surrounding Amin's rise to power and downfall. He interviewed many of those who … See more

The book was adapted for the stage by Steve Waters in 2019, opening at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield; The Observer gave the play three stars out of five, describing it as … See more

• 1998 James Tait Black Memorial Prize (for fiction) (shortlist)
• 1998 Whitbread First Novel Award
• 1998 Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize
• 1999 Betty Trask Award See more

• 1998: New York: Knopf; Distributed by Random House, hardback, ISBN 978-0-375-40360-6 (English)
• 1998: London: Faber Paperbacks, … See more