It is said that a respectable private members' club should have no history. That the club's purpose is to quietly and privately serve its members and only through them should it make its mark on society.

The history of Muthaiga Country Club in many respects parallels that of the last hundred years of Kenya itself as many dignitaries, businessmen, professionals, military officers and early settlers were Muthaiga members and, as this book relates, the two histories are inextricably entwined.

In some respects this book also seeks to dispel the myth which, in the early days, represented the Muthaiga Club as a haven for those who revelled in the hedonistic pursuit of pleasure, engaging in riotous parties, rampant infidelities, heavy drinking and drugs, not to mention the occasional murder. The reality of course is that the vast majority of Muthaiga members were from hard-working stock that had to withstand the daily challenges of tropical sickness, ferocious wild animals, crop infestation, cattle disease and perennial droughts or floods in an ongoing effort to survive.

In writing this book, many fading memories, incomplete records, old manuscripts and dusty archives, often fraught with contradiction, have been willingly volunteered from a variety of sources, both locally and abroad. The task of compiling and verifying such information has led to the need for speculations which can never be substantiated to everyone's satisfaction. Therefore, I make no claim to this book being of any scholarly value.

Given the above, it is my sincere hope that you will enjoy this book which, within its 296 pages, spans the first 50-years of the Club's history from 1913-1963 and incorporates over 600 many rare and previously unpublished photographs. I also trust that, as you turn the pages, you will realise how much you didn't know about the Club, this truly wonderful country of Kenya, and the extraordinary people, both members and staff, who have frequented and loyally served the Muthaiga County Club throughout the years...