The Washing of the Spears - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 067163108X ISBN 13: 9780671631086

Synopsis

In 1879, armed only with their spears, their rawhide shields, and their incredible courage, the Zulus challenged the might of Victorian England and, initially, inflicted on the British the worst defeat a modern army has ever suffered at the hands of men without guns. This definitive account of the rise of the Zulu nation under the great ruler Shaka and its fall under Cetshwayo has been acclaimed for its scholarship, its monumental range, and its spellbinding readability. The story is studded with tales of drama and heroism: the Battle of Isandhlwana, where the Zulu army wiped out the major British column; and Rorke's Drift, where a handful of British troops beat off thousands of Zulu warriors and won eleven Victoria Crosses.

About this title

Review

Superb (Noel Mostert New York Times )

Mr. Morris is evidently incapable of being dull... Hemingway would have relished his vigorous way of bringing history to life ( The Times )

The book to end all books on the tragic confrontation between the assegai and the Gatling gun... Colourful yet commendably fair ( Times Literary Supplement )

This magnificent book is not only a history of the Zulus, the "Black Spartans", from their rise under Shaka to the deliberate destruction of the independent Zulu nation through the war forced on them by Sir Bartle Frere, but also a full-scale immensely knowledgeable account of British Colonial and military policy in relation to Southern Africa, and of the men who carried it out. ( Punch )

Book Description

'An accomplished volume, anatomising the achievement of Zulu nationhood and its destruction by the British at the high watermark of Victorian imperialism.' Observer (19940216)

Edition details

• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 067163108X
• ISBN 13: 9780671631086
• Binding: Hardcover