Book excerpt: Red Soil and Roasted Maize is a selection of Kenyan writer Rasna Warahs most poignant, introspective and satirical articles, columns and essays that provide snapshots and analyses of events that have shaped Kenyans lives and dreams in the last decade, from the turbulent transition to democracy in 2002 to a flawed election in 2007 that had a deep impact on Kenyas political, economic and social landscape. She candidly deciphers and describes the perils of growing ethnic chauvinism and corruption in an increasingly polarised nation and examines her own life as a writer in one of Africas most diverse and unequal societies.