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"the writer cannot be a mere storyteller; he cannot be a mere teacher; he cannot merely X-ray society's weaknesses, its ills, its perils. He or she must be actively involved shaping its present and its future."
Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-1995)

The Politics of Bones: Dr. Owens Wiwa and the Struggle for Nigeria's Oil
By J. Timothy Hunt

Published by: McClelland & Stewart
Publishing on: 13 September 2005
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The gripping story of a people's battle against a corrupt government and a powerful oil company.

On November 10, 1995, Nigeria's military dictatorship executed nine environmental activists. Among them was Ken Saro-Wiwa, the charismatic spokesman of the Ogoni people, whose land in the fertile Niger River delta has been grotesquely polluted by Royal Dutch Shell Corporation.

During Ken's incarceration on a trumped-up murder charge, his brother, Dr. Owens Wiwa, fought valiantly to save his life - even though he himself was on his government's most-wanted list. When his quest failed, Owens narrowly escaped Nigeria with his life, fleeing the country on foot with his wife and newborn son, first to London, where he was embraced by the likes of Anita Roddick and Doris Lessing, and then to Toronto, where he now lives.

Owens Wiwa has taken up his brother's environmental crusade and fought, against terrible odds, to have his brother's remains returned to the family for a proper burial. His story is a heart-stopping saga of personal courage and official corruption, of individual selflessness and corporate greed, of a man's abiding love for his brother and extraordinary determination to honour him.

About the Author
Toronto journalist J. Timothy Hunt is a regular contributor to many of Canada's most prominent magazines. He is the recipient of three National Magazine awards and the prestigious Canada Council Creative Writing Grant.

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