The Boer War - Illustrated Edition - Thomas Pakenham

  • R365.00
    Unit price per 
Shipping calculated at checkout.


The Boer War - Illustrated Edition - Thomas Pakenham

Hardcover, ISBN 0947464700
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers-, 1993

Condition: Very Good+. This book is in an excellent condition. The DJ has only some very slight signs of wear and the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains perfect. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. The book is protected with a Cellophane cover. 

The war declared by the Boers on 11 October 1899 gave the British, as Kipling said, ‘no end of a lesson’. The public expected it to be over by Christmas. It proved to be the longest (two and three-quarter years), the costliest (over £200 million), the bloodiest (at least 22 000 British, 25 000 Boer and 12 000 African lives) and the most humiliating war that Britain fought between 1815 and 1914.

First published in 1979 Thomas Pakenham’s The Boer War is still considered the standard text on the subject and this sensitively abridged illustrated edition brings it to a wider public. His narrative is based on first-hand and largely unpublished sources. He combed the original British documents in the Public Record Office and the material in South African archives. He traced the private papers of most of the protagonists. And he dug up several hundred sets of letters and diaries written by the men who fought in the war. Finally, he tape-recorded the memories of over fifty survivors from both sides.

Out of this historical gold mine, Thomas Pakenham has constructed a narrative as vivid and fast-moving as a novel. In numerous ways he challenges the accepted views of historians. He exposes the crucial role of two of the `gold-bugs’ — the richest of the Rand millionaires — in precipitating the war. He throws new light on the blunders of the British generals, Sir Redvers Buller and Lord Roberts, revealing a personal feud between the men comparable to the one between Lords Lucan and Cardigan that led to the Charge of the Light Brigade. He writes movingly about the plight of the 100 000 black Africans who served both armies.


We Also Recommend

Shipping Address

Shipping Address

X