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Name: Colour Bar: A United Kingdom: Williams, Susan: 9780141985701: Amazon.com: Books
Price: 12.97 USD
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Rating: 4.4 (391 reviews)

Susan Williams

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Colour Bar: A United Kingdom Paperback – February 15, 2017

by Susan Williams (Author)

4.4 391 ratings

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London, 1945: the heir apparent to the kingship of Bechuanaland (later Botswana) arrives in Britain to complete his legal studies. Seretse Khama, an urbane 24-year-old, educated like Mandela at Fore Hare, is welcomed into the elite world of the Inner Temple in London. But then, in 1947, he does something that will change the course of his life, and that of his country, forcing him into six long years of exile: he falls in love with a white British woman, Ruth Williams. Drawing on a mass of previously classified records, Susan Williams tells Seretse and Ruth's story—an astonishing account of how the British Government conspired with apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia to prevent the mixed-race royal couple returning home. This is a shocking account of a shameful period of British history: overt racism on the streets of London and the corridors of Whitehall, and of appeasement to apartheid South Africa. But it is also an inspiring, triumphant tale of hope, courage, and true love, as with tenacity and great dignity Seretse and Ruth and the Bangwato people overcome prejudice in their fight for justice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A story of forgiveness and healing . . . as relevant today as when the whole drama was being played out." —Alexander McCall Smith

"A gripping, heroic and darkly comic story of fading imperium." —Sunday Times

"Elegantly written . . . Williams has done a masterly job." —Guardian

"An inspiring story ... [an] excellent and shaming book." —Literary Review

"Wonderful . . . Deeply researched and grippingly written." —Independent

"A splendid book." —Spectator

"A pacy but judicious writer . . . her portrait of a love affair exposes the madness of the racial bar more effectively than a thousand anti-apartheid pamphlets." —Tablet

"A hugely readable book. I couldn't put it down." —Saturday Independent

"As exciting as any detective story." —Art Beat

"A fantastic love story of modern times, one that is almost Shakespearian in its drama, intrigue and pathos." —Tonight

About the Author

Susan Williams is a historian and the author of many books, including Spies in the Congo and Who Killed Hammarskjöld?: The UN, the Cold War and White Supremacy in Africa, which triggered a new UN investigation in 2015 into the death of the Secretary General. She is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin UK; Media tie-in edition (February 15, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0141985704
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141985701
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1 x 7.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,628,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #932 in Historical African Biographies (Books)
- #3,529 in Royalty Biographies
- #12,174 in Political Leader Biographies

Customer Reviews:
4.4 391 ratings

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Susan Williams

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Dr Susan Williams is a senior research fellow in the School of Advanced Study, University of London. Her book COLOUR BAR, the story of Botswana’s founding President, was made into the major 2016 film A UNITED KINGDOM, directed by Amma Asante and starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike. Her book WHO KILLED HAMMARSKJÖLD? triggered a new UN investigation in 2015 into the death of the UN Secretary General; the investigation is ongoing into 2022. SPIES IN THE CONGO spotlights the link between US espionage in the Congo and the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. A PEOPLE'S KING presents an original perspective on the abdication of Edward VIII and his marriage to Wallis Simpson.

Susan Williams lives in London.

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Customers find the story interesting and enjoyable. They describe the book as clear, readable, and hard to put down.

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15 customers mention "Story quality"15 positive0 negative

Customers find the story interesting and enjoyable. They appreciate the clear, readable writing and thorough documentation. The book is described as an informative and riveting tour of history, with a true-life love story.

"...Susan Williams did a splendid job of writing and a thanks must go to all the people who helped in the research. It was considerable...." Read more

"What a challenge, what a life. So interesting. I learned some history and enjoyed reading it" Read more

"This is a clear, readable and indepth study into the deplorable way Seretse Khama and his wife and family were treated by racist, incompetent and..." Read more

"...important piece of modern history to us in such a riveting and informative way.[..." Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and engaging. They say it's clear and hard to put down.

"This is a clear, readable and indepth study into the deplorable way Seretse Khama and his wife and family were treated by racist, incompetent and..." Read more

"This is a good book, a quick and easy read, and an insightful story of African politics in the name of colonialism...." Read more

"JUST STARTING TO READ, CAN HARDLY PUT DOWN" Read more

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England's own.
Highly recommended!
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2008
Verified Purchase
I would highly recommend this book. I would go so far as to say it should be required reading in schools. Children need to know how things were to appreciate the world today. Today's world is not perfect but at least things are better.

I was appalled at the attitude of the British government and its treatment of Seretse and Ruth Kharma.

Susan Williams did a splendid job of writing and a thanks must go to all the people who helped in the research. It was considerable.

I found the book so interesting I could hardly put it down. Only when the attitude of others was so poor did I take a break.

I would have liked more detail about the private lives of the Kharmas, more about the children etc though I realize the subject was the colour bar and more their public lives.

Today there is not a colour bar as such. Racism is more subtle. If only people could remember we are all God's children.

I would like to close with a quote from his, "I have a dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr., "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character."

To all Amazon's readers. Look in to your hearts.

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10 people found this helpful

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Judith P. Larson
I learned some history and enjoyed reading
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2017
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What a challenge, what a life. So interesting. I learned some history and enjoyed reading it

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Linda Lee
The Triumph that took too long to happen.
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2017
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This is a clear, readable and indepth study into the deplorable way Seretse Khama and his wife and family were treated by racist, incompetent and unprofessional UK government employees. My reading suggests that if Seretse Khama had not married a white woman he would have more easily and quickly come into his role as the legitimate leader of his country. His crime was to marry for love.
I would recommend this book to people who have an interest in the history of Botswana, people who have seen the recent film, those intrigued about why Mme Ramotse constantly speaks highly of Seretse Khama in Alexander McCall Smith's novels about the No 1 Women's Detective Agency and those who want to find out why government employees think it's OK to let their own prejudices and career concerns ruin peoples lives. And of course why the UK government wanted to avoid upsetting racist governments such as South Africa and Rhodesia during the 1950s and 1960s.
My major concern is why we had to wait so long for this book! Who had to die first?

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5 people found this helpful

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Lewis
Heroism and Dignity
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024
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This should be the story of Africa and of the true path of democracy throughout the world, even as we seem close to abandoning it here in the United States

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Amazon Customer
Seretse Khama made a difference in the world
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2013
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This is one of the most inspiring and uplifting book that I've read. The story of Seretse and Ruth Khama deserves to be better known. Such dignity in the face of the abject machinations of the British Empire at its most powerful. All the cover-up by Britain, never acknowledging that there was but one issue : pressures exerted by South Africa and Rhodesia because there was a black leader married to a white woman. Besides the racial politics, Seretse Khama has lessons to teach us all in democracy and leadership. Pula, Pula Pula to Botswana for supporting their Khosi and First President. Susan Williams does a great job in bringing this important piece of modern history to us in such a riveting and informative way.Colour Bar: The triumph of Seretse Khama and His Nation

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13 people found this helpful

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AlyssaNK
The book is better than the movie
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2017
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The book is better than the movie. However, in both instances the story could have been told better. I enjoyed the read, and learning about a part of history that isn't talked about here in The States.

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2 people found this helpful

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Antje Landanno
The human bond of love, despite the color of ones skin is unbreakable
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2017
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The human bond of love, despite the color of ones skin is unbreakable. It is unbelieveable that the human abuse which took
place was directed at them. It also shows the understanding that the improvement of their "kingdom" for the good of mankind
was more important than ego.

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One person found this helpful

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Ph.D. Economist
Excellent work of history
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2017
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Fascinating and carefully researched history of an incredible story. Note that this book is written by a true historian, so it is exhaustively documented. Some readers may find this tedious, but those who like good historical work will appreciate the care and the archival research that went into constructing the definitive treatment of the Seretse Khama story.

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5 people found this helpful

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mari laco
una narrazione attenta e storicamente ineccepibile.
Reviewed in Italy on February 14, 2022
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La storia vera di uno Stato africano sfruttato da Un'Inghilterra imperialista, del coraggio e della determinazione dei protagonisti nel voler riconosciuti i loro diritti: amore, lotta, passioni, sofferenze e un epilogo sorprendente.

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Diane Skeates
Forget the differences...
Reviewed in Canada on November 11, 2017
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Loved it. Again another true life story and a beautiful one at that. It proves what you can do if you forget about our differences and focus who the people are instead of the color of their skin, what language they speak, what religion they believe in.
We can built cathedrals if we lend each other a hand instead of shooting each other.

Good job by the actors too.

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Bianka B.
Eine schöne Liebesgeschichte und interessante Schilderungen
Reviewed in Germany on June 16, 2019
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Ich habe bereits den Film gesehen und war begeistert. Das Buch ist sehr interessant und nicht nur eine schwarz-weiße Liebesgeschichte sondern schildert auch die politischen Probleme. Sehr zu empfehlen.

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Kristen
this is the real deal - Love that isn't just for the good times and determination ...
Reviewed in Australia on March 8, 2017
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Wow, this is the real deal - Love that isn't just for the good times and determination to put the needs of others before one's own comforts.

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D. Edwards
A rivetting read that should be compulsory for all
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2008
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I bought this book as a 'worthy' read: to do some background research on a country I have visited and was preparing a talk on: it wasn't a book that I thought would be a great read. How wrong I was! When I finally picked it up I couldn't put it down. It almost read like a page turning thriller. If it wasn't for the fact that I knew it had a happy ending it would have been an agonising read as so many obstacles were put in the way of a man who was much bigger than the racist pygmies who tried to curtail his freedoms. I knew that Batswana held the Khamas in high esteem: after finishing the book I could see why. I was in awe of his intelligence, compassion, decency and refusal to dwell on past injustices. I can see why Nelson Mandela held him in such high regard. How fortunate southern Africa has been to have had two such great men guide it. It also made me very angry against the oppressive governments of Britain, Rhodesia and South Africa. The shenanigans of the UK officials were almost desperately farcical as they tried to manipulate and manoeuvre to obtain the petty outcomes they wanted, irrespective of natural decency or basic human rights, or what was best for Africa. If you thought 'spin' was a recent political development, this book will show you it's true age. This book could be sold at airports as a page turning thriller, and would also serve to show people how noble the human character can be, and also show how low and despicable those who think they are superior can be. This is my first ever glowing (and longest) review on Amazon but I was so 'blown away' by the story this book authoritatively tells, but with a lightness of touch that lets the reader draw their own judgements. This deserves to be as well known, and read, as Mandela's 'Long road to freedom'. Even if you know nothing about Botswana, buy this book: it gives a rare insight into Britain's 1950's society and its values that read sometimes like the history of another world, rather than my own country in its recent past.

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