‘Phenomenal’ ANTONY BEEVOR

‘Extraordinary . . . I read with open mouth and thumping heart’ STEPHEN FRY

In 38 Londres Street, Philippe Sands blends personal memoir, historical detective work and gripping courtroom drama to probe a secret double story of mass murder, one that reveals a shocking thread that links the horrors of the 1940s with those of our own times.

The house at 38 Londres Street is home to the legacies of two men whose personal stories span continents, nationalities and decades of atrocity: Augusto Pinochet, President of Chile, and Walther Rauff, a Nazi SS officer responsible for the use of gas vans.

On the run from justice at the end of the Second World War, Rauff crosses the ocean to southern Chile. He settles in Punta Arenas, Patagonia, managing a king crab cannery at the end of the world. But there are whispers about this discreet and self-possessed German – rumours of a second career with Pinochet’s secret intelligence service, the dreaded DINA.

In 1998, Pinochet is in a London medical clinic when the police enter his room and arrest him on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide. Philippe Sands is called to advise the former head of state on his claim to immunity, but will instead represent a human rights organisation against him. Years later, Sands makes a discovery while working on another book which reignites his interest in the case and leads to a decades-long investigation into Pinochet’s crimes, his unexpected connection to Rauff and the former Nazi’s possible connection to Chile’s disappeared.

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.

After the Second World War, new international rules heralded an age of human rights and self-determination. Supported by Britain, these unprecedented changes sought to end the scourge of colonialism. But how committed was Britain?

In the 1960s, its colonial instinct ignited once more: a secret decision was taken to offer the US a base at Diego Garcia, one of the islands of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, create a new colony (the ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’) and deport the entire local population. One of those inhabitants was Liseby Elysé, twenty years old, newly married, expecting her first child. One suitcase, no pets, the British ordered, expelling her from the only home she had ever known.

For four decades the government of Mauritius fought for the return of Chagos, and the past decade Philippe Sands has been intimately involved in the cases. In 2018 Chagos and colonialism finally reached the World Court in The Hague. As Mauritius and the entire African continent challenged British and American lawlessness, fourteen international judges faced a landmark decision: would they rule that Britain illegally detached Chagos from Mauritius? Would they open the door to Liseby Elysé and her fellow Chagossians returning home – or exile them forever?

Taking us on a disturbing journey across international law, THE LAST COLONY illuminates the continuing horrors of colonial rule, the devastating impact of Britain’s racist grip on its last colony in Africa, and the struggle for justice in the face of a crime against humanity. It is a tale about the making of modern international law and one woman’s fight for justice, a courtroom drama and a personal journey that ends with a historic ruling.

SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER

When he receives an invitation to deliver a lecture in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, international lawyer Philippe Sands begins a journey on the trail of his family’s secret history. In doing so, he uncovers an astonishing series of coincidences that lead him halfway across the world, to the origins of international law at the Nuremberg trial. Interweaving the stories of the two Nuremberg prosecutors (Hersch Lauterpacht and Rafael Lemkin) who invented the crimes or genocide and crimes against humanity, the Nazi governor responsible for the murder of thousands in and around Lviv (Hans Frank), and incredible acts of wartime bravery, EAST WEST STREET is an unforgettable blend of memoir and historical detective story, and a powerful meditation on the way memory, crime and guilt leave scars across generations.

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‘A monumental achievement: profoundly personal, told with love, anger and great precision’ John le Carré

‘One of the most gripping and powerful books imaginable’ SUNDAY TIMES

Winner:
Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction
JQ-Wingate Literary Prize
Hay Festival Medal for Prose