The Commandant-General. The Life and Times of Petrus Jacobus Joubert of the South African Republic 1831-1900

Meintjes, Johannes

Published by (Cape Town: Tafelberg, 1971)

About this Item

8vo; original black boards; pictorial dustwrapper; pp. (xvi) + 220, incl. index; photographic illustrations. Dustwrapper tanned, rubbed and edgeworn; earlier owner's name signed on front free endpaper; some foxing to edges and endpapers. Good condition. "Perhaps because of the enigma of his character as much as the fact that he was overshadowed by his rival, President Kruger, there has been little or no attempt to assess Commandant-General Petrus Jacobus Joubert. Yet he was the hero of Majuba, and up to the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War came second in importance on the Transvaal scene only to the massive figure cut by Paul Kruger. . As a General his skill lay in defence, and in the supreme test of the Anglo-Boer War he failed because of his overcautious approach. But shortly before his death, seriously ill after a fall from his horse and weighed down by his defeats, he underwent a transformation. At the Conference of Boer leaders at Kroonstad he advised the Boers to operate in small, mobile groups and to attack and attack! Johannes Meintjes has given his readers a fascinating character study of a man whose complexity was the source of his potential greatness as well as of his weaknesses.".

Seller Inventory # 11493

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Commandant-General. The Life and Times of Petrus Jacobus Joubert of the South African Republic 1831-1900
• Publisher: (Cape Town: Tafelberg, 1971)
• Binding: Hardcover
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included