Product Description

Drawing on the archives of the National Army Museum, this book recreates the harsh reality of the Anglo-Zulu War - one of the most dramatic campaigns in British History. The Zulus were a fiercely independent and extremely brave warrior race. When the might of the British army was defeated by this indigenous foe at Isandlwana in 1879, it sent shock waves throughout the Empire - 1300 British troops and their African allies were killed. In the aftermath, Zulu reserves mounted a raid on a British border post at Rorke's Drift, which was held by just 145 men. After ten hours of ferocious fighting the Zulus were driven away. Eventually superior weaponry carried the day for the British, (though not before the exiled French prince, Louis Napoleon, was killed in skirmish). Invading Zululand, the British took the capital of Ulundi and 5000 British defeated 20,000 Zulus. King Cetewayo was captured and the war was over. Ian Knight draws on a host of previously unpublished letters and diaries, from ordinary soldiers to the British commander-in-chief, to bring this war to life - one which saw great acts of bravery an courage on both sides.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #148829 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 295 pages

Customer Reviews

Enjoyable and Informative from the guru of this subject
I like many others who have developed an interest in this subject did so after watching Michael Caine in the epic film Zulu. If you want to know more about the British Soldiers who fought in this war and their African adversaries then this book is for you.
The book begins by giving a background as to how the conflict began and continues with great detail through to the conclusion of the war. The author is without doubt the greatest living authority on this subject but the prose does flow considerably better than most academic writers.
When reading this book you will notice that the author draws on letters home from officers serving in South Africa but also remarkably there is a great deal of writing from the Zulu warriors. All of this helps to give you a great feel for conditions and events on both sides of this rather famous colonial war.

As usual an excellent book from this author.
Normally I write reasonably long and detailed reviews to assist those thinking of buying books that I have read. However I am going to keep this one short. The reason for this is the author, Ian Knight, who quite frankly is 'the authority' on the Zulu War and as with all his other works this book is of an extremely high standard.

If you want a good book on the Zulu War than buy this one. In fact buy any written by Ian Knight since no one can write a book on this subject better than he can.

Needs more maps
There is no doubt whatsoever that this man knows what he is talking about. He can also communicate what he knows very clearly and entertainingly. The only thing that stops me giving it 5 stars is the fact that there aren't enough maps and two of the few that there are cover Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift; both well documented battles whose layout is widely available elsewhere.