The Boer War

Average customer rating:

excellent history of the worst imperial war

Vivid writing, primary sources, comprehensive understanding

Totally engrossing book

Sensational book

Eerie parallels to Vietnam

The Boer War
Thomas Pakenham
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

South Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books
Southern Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books
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The Boer War 1899-1902 (Essential Histories)

Commando: A Boer Journal of the Boer War

ASIN: 0394427424
Release Date: 1979-10-12

Book Description

The Boers of South Africa responded to Britain's annexation of the gold-and-diamond-rich Transvaal region by declaring war on October 11, 1899. The English believed the fighting would be over by Christmas -- never dreaming they were on the brink of one of the longest, bloodiest, most costly and humiliating military campaigns in their history.

Mammoth in scope and scholarship, as vivid, fast-moving and breathtakingly compelling as the finest fiction. Thomas Pakenham's The Boer War is the definitive account of this extraordinary conflict -- a war precipitated by greed and marked by almost inconcievable blundering and brutalities . . . and whose shattering repercussions can be felt to this very day.

Customer Reviews:

excellent history of the worst imperial war.......2007-01-24

Pakenham's work remains a standard in the history of the Boer War, not only for its scope, but for its clarity and readability. He certainly covers the gamut of the war, but those interested in the causes and precursors to the war would be better served with a different work, as those details are lost in his description of military aspects.

As I suggest for many works of this scope and quality, if there is one book you must read on the Second South Africa War, make it this one.

Vivid writing, primary sources, comprehensive understanding.......2004-10-14

Atr the outset, it should be noted that this book could be usefully supplemented by reading COMMANDO by Deneys Reitz - A Boer journal ,of the Boer War.
Much of the horror of 20th century warfare - trench warfare, concentration camps, shooting or otherwise mistreating prisoners - was carried out in the Boer war. Some readers, and I am a general reader not an historian, will have been aware of elements of the Boer War such as the shooting of prisoners by Lt "Breaker Morant" which was and is something of a cause celebre in Australia retold in books, plays and a fine contemporary film. But the one feeling I have after reading this fine book by Mr Pakenham is a far greater sympathy for the Boers and a much better appreciation of the contribution and sacrifice that black Africans made in what was touted as a "white man's" war. In fact it was a black man's war too with c100,000 black riflemen seeing duty, and fighting in effect for the right to vote. Mr Pakenham provides evidence to suggest that the successful survival by the British at the siege of Mafeking was made possible by the sacrifice of black Africans.
Item: 3500 horses perished in one day in one cavalry charge.
Item: 400,000 horses, mules, donkeys died in total
Item: Lord Kitchener invented the concentration camp using a Spanish model re Cubans
Item: The British military and politicians did not care about the thousands of women and children in concentration camps and as the result of disgusting conditions many many died as a result.
Item: It was not superior marksmanship or courage that won, but the application of the knowledge that defence was superior to attack with the new, smokeless, high velocity, weapons.
The book is very well written, with a reliance on much primary source material, especially diaries and letters of the major British protagonists
including Sir Alfred Milner, High Commissioner for South Africa and Lt Governor of Cape Colony who is revealed in his own words as a thoroughly despicable character. The reader also gets a very real feeling for the exigencies of the landscape, the boredom of routine for the military, the clash of battle where the stones on the ground or the mud on the banks of a river become as frighteningly real as the whizz and splat of dum dum bullets. Clearly the writer has experienced the landscape firsthand. The reader also gets a very real picture of the characters involved, their weaknesses and strengths, including some ordinary and very likeable soldiers or "Tommy's".
The likely causes and consequences of the war are made clear to the reader. The usual suspects - imperial supremacy of the British; greed for gold, diamonds; denial of franchise; nationalism - are covered and a re-evaluation of the protaganists undertaken. It is a fair and balanced re-assessment of the task faced by General Sir Redvers Buller and his inability to overcome it whilst appreciating his intelligent appraisal of the situation he found himself in. On the other hand it reveals Lord Kitchener as arrogant and hard working but overrated and over-compensated for his role. The book also emphasises the CRITICAL role of transport and supply.
We are still living with the consequences of it today but one redeeming reality is that democracy and a free press are likely to inhibit a repetition. What was that? Guantanomo Bay? Oil? Imperialism? Franchise? Prisons?

Totally engrossing book.......2004-09-21

Exposing the origins of the war as basically blatant attempt by jingoistic imperialists like Milner, in Britain, in league with Cecil Rhodes and his (...)cronies, to grab power (and gold, and diamond) in South Africa. It must be said that the Boers were not exactly victims in the war, prior to that they had inflicted much sufferings on the Blacks and were now getting their just desserts for past sins.

The British Army also came out of this war with a sullied reputation for sexual depravity (Lord kitchener, Baden Powell, Douglas Haig), inept generalship. plunder, pillage, indiscrminate and wanton destruction of life and property, as well as pioneering the use of concentration camps for Boer women and children, who were deliberatedly left out in the cold to rot, and die from hunger, disease and assorted inhumane treatments.

What is amazing was that the Boers were totally reconciled with their imperial masters and co-colonists in one generation, and would enlist en masse in fighting for the rotten British Empire in the Great War. Apparently, the deal was struck that high sounding Victorian Britain would look the other way on the mistreatment and apartheid policies in South Africa, provided the Boers pay fealty to their London masters after the peace.

The Boer War, in essence, was a war fought between 2 unscrupulous, greedy races over the spoils, both material and human, of Africa.

Sensational book.......2003-09-14

I'm very pleased that Thomas Pakenham's classic has been reissued as an affordable paperback. Now I can stop borrowing the library's hardcover copy. This is without doubt the finest, most authoritative general history of the Boer War. Pakenham's lively writing style makes the book readable and enjoyable, and the scholarship is so good that you know what you are reading is reliable.

Eerie parallels to Vietnam.......2003-04-29

There is much to commend about Thomas Pakenhamýs history of the Boer War. The nature and origins of the conflict are cogently presented. He describes the main actors in the tale ý Alfred Milner, Cecil Rhodes, Paul Kruger, Jan Smuts, etc. ý with a dramatic flair that greatly adds to the readability of the book and turns the history of the conflict into a clash of personalities as much as a clash of empire. The author also does a superb job putting the events of the Boer War in the context of the Victorian Age and the last days of Splendid Isolation of the British Empire. Finally, the book has a number of detailed, but easy to follow maps that greatly enhance the readers ability to follow and digest the narrative (those who frequently read military history understand that this isnýt a trivial point).

Ironically, however, the thing that struck me the most about this book was something the author never commented on at all: the remarkable historical parallels between the Boer War and the US war in Vietnam sixty-five years later. In light of salient differences in the conflicts (time, place, technology, people, the outcome -- the British ýwoný-- etc.), the wars followed a similar trajectory and the British and American forces developed similar responses to similar challenges.

To begin with, the British and American forces suffered from a significant handicap in intelligence collection and mobility, a disadvantage neither side was ever able to overcome. Second, both the British and Americans deployed massive amounts of troops to the theater, but only a small fraction were ever able to engage the enemy, creating an extremely long and cumbersome ýtailý with precious few ýteeth.ý Third, the inability to effectively hold territory or engage the enemy in open battle deprived the British and Americans of traditional battlefield metrics, and ultimately led to the use of enemy ýbody countý (Kitchener called it ýthe bagý but it was the same idea in principle) as the ineffective but de facto measurement of success. Fourth, the challenge of keeping the civilian population separated from the marauding guerillas led the British and Americans to the same response, including locking local populations up in protected communities (called ýlaagersý in South Africa and ýhamletsý in Vietnam) and the creation of a protective fence to prevent the enemy from penetrating territory ostensibly held by local forces. Fifth, attempts to fight the enemy on even terms led both the British and Americans to develop their own version of guerillas to fight along side friendly locals (the carbineers in South Africa ý including the famous Breaker Morant ý and the Marine Corpsý Ruff-Puffs in Vietnam). Finally, the British and American war efforts were gravely undermined by massive public unrest against the war on the home front.

Book Description

This book looks at the ways Victorian ideas about gender and race supported British imperialism at the turn of the century. It examines the Boer War of 1899-1902 through the war writings of literary figures such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Olive Schreiner, H. Rider Haggard and Rudyard Kipling, and also through newspapers, propaganda, and other forms of public debate in print. Paula M. Krebs' analysis of the part played by ideas about gender and race in public discourse makes a significant new contribution to the study of British imperialism.

Customer Reviews:

Definately worth the money!.......1999-03-25

I am not really a person of literature but this book I thought was really worth the time and money.

Small Arms of the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902

Average customer rating:

Interesting and Indispensible Reference Book
Great Boer War Book!

Small Arms of the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902

Manufacturer: Kraal Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1874979316

Product Description

A definitive work on the Small Arms of this significant historical conflict by Dr Ron Bester and Associates, the majority of whom are SAAACA members. The majority of the examples photographed in the Book are drawn from Collections held in South Africa and maintained by SAAACA members. A 'must have' reference for anyone with an interest in Boer and or British Military Arms of the period. The first in a unique series of two, the second edition will deal with the Artillery used on both sides. Over three hundred pages A4 format, in full colour on high quality paper, hardcover bound with dust jacket for the Standard Edition. This is a limited print-run publication with many new and previously unpublished facts complimented by many colour photographs

Customer Reviews:

Interesting and Indispensible Reference Book .......2007-01-01

The penultimate book on weapons of all kinds used during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). Presented in a very easy to read style, it's a "hard to put down" book for any British or South African arms enthusiast. Monumental research provides fresh text and never seen before pictures clarifying types of weapons, as well as contract details and usage. Highly recommended.

Great Boer War Book!.......2005-10-23

This is the best book on weapons used during the Anglo-Boer War or 1899. The author lives in the Free State and is deply ivolved in recording the history of the Boere. A must have book one weapons of the era.

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The Boer War
Denis Judd , and Keith Surridge
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Boer War 1899-1902 (Essential Histories)

ASIN: 1403961506

Book Description

The Boer War was an epic both of heroism and of barbarism. Fought by the British against the Dutch inhabitants of South Aftrica, the Boer War had an extraordinary cast of characters including Commanders-in chief buller, Roberts and Kitchener, Winston Churchill, Arthur Conan Doyle, Emily Hobhouse, Rudyard Kipling, and Gandhi. The war revealed the ineptitude of the British military, and exposed the corrupt underside of British imperialism . For the first time, Judd and Surridge debunk several myths. There was not, for instance, a straightforward divide between the Boers and British. In fact, the overriding aim of both sides was to maintain European supremacy and to keep Africans and Indians "in their place." Giving us a sense of how the Apartheid era was born, The Boer War is a gripping read.

Hamlyn History of the Boer War, 1899-1902 (Hamlyn History)

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Hamlyn History of the Boer War, 1899-1902 (Hamlyn History)
David Smurthwaite
Manufacturer: Hamlyn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

Strategy | Military | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0600596524

Average customer rating:

Informative, enjoyable, definitive
Superb
An excellent non-academic history of the war...

The Great Anglo-Boer War
Byron, Farwell
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393306593

Customer Reviews:

Informative, enjoyable, definitive.......2006-08-22

Quite easily the best book on the topic of the second Anglo-Boer war. If there were but one book you read concerning this timely subject, it is this one. The author leads the reader on a fast-paced but thorough and enjoyable tour of the people and places involved. The intermixture of battlefield strategic and tactical decisions are interspersed with human stories of the men who carried out the orders and the political forces that fueled the conflict. A must have for the panoramic big picture with detail enough to satisfy the most avid military historian. It is a work I come back to again and again.

Superb.......2006-05-12

Simply put, one of the greatest, most detailed and yet most readable histories, military or otherwise, to ever have been published. If you have even a passing interest in history, this book is for you. The parallels that can be drawn to our present day situation in the middle east are shocking, and this book was written quite a while ago.

An excellent non-academic history of the war..........2000-11-04

This is an absorbing, well written account of a neglected (by American readers anyways) war at the turn of the last century. Rather than being a dry academic text, Farwell's writing style serves to bring the war to life 100 years after the fact.

Coupled with other accounts of the war, like Goodbye Dolly Gray (another excellent book) written by Rayne Kruger, the average reader can understand some of the causal factors of South Africa's apartied system and gain an insight into the history of a long troubled region.

Book Description

This book examines the uniforms, equipment, history and organisation of the armies that fought in the Boer War. Both sides are covered, and the campaigns summarised. Uniforms are shown in full illustrated detail.

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The Boer War: 1899-1902
David Smurthwaite
Manufacturer: Hamlyn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0600607739

Book Description

The Boer War pitted the might of the British Empire (with more than half a million men mobilized) against 80,000 South African Boers--and this detailed and lavishly illustrated history goes right to the heart of the struggle. A timeline gives at-a-glance information on what spurred the conflict and how the events unfolded, while eyewitness accounts from soldiers of all ranks describe the brutality from both viewpoints. The in-depth narrative, by a renowned historian, studies the strategies, politics, and social implications of the strife, and looks at some of the major figures involved--including Winston Churchill. In more than 200 pictures, including hundreds of vintage photographs, follow the road to war, the first offensives, the guerrilla fighting, and finally the road to peace. Illuminating.

The Boer War: Historiography and Annotated Bibliography (Bibliographies of Battles and Leaders)

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No Bore

The Boer War: Historiography and Annotated Bibliography (Bibliographies of Battles and Leaders)
Fred R. van Hartesveldt
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0313306273

Book Description

One hundred years after the Boer War, the British continue to debate what went wrong, while the war has significant nationalist overtones in today's South Africa. This book examines changes in interpretations of the war and provides a bibliography of major sources on the Boer War, now sometimes called the South African War. The bibliography focuses on the military history, but also includes some historical accounts of the political debate. The first part of the book provides an extended historiographical essay, while part two provides an annotated bibliography of the titles discussed in part one. Historiographical questions concerning the Boer War are numerous. Discussions of military operations focus on the early use of modern weaponry and the effect of guerrilla tactics on a traditional force, while other historians debate the question of British military leadership and organization. Questions also revolve around British imperialism and the "scramble for Africa." Frequently called the second war for freedom by South African authors, the war was the reason that South Africa, unlike other British colonies, gained independence without majority rule. This makes the war of continuing relevance to the turmoil in South Africa, the collapse of the minority government, and the continuing problems of the current government. This book will provide a useful tool for those wishing to research the war.

Customer Reviews:

No Bore.......2000-08-27

Academic accounts of regional conflicts are often dry and tedious reads. Dr. van Hartesveldt's retelling of the history of this conflict is engaging and accessible. He gives life to the stories of the men who fought in this bitter struggle and provides an understanding of the importance of the Boer war in the greater story of the rise and fall of the British empire. An enjoyable and enlightening read.

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It's Good to be Green

Ethnic Hagiography

Fascinating look at Irish throughout the world

Wherever There's Green(backs) To Be Made

Village Idiot Historian Strikes Again.

Wherever Green Is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora
Tim Pat Coogan
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1403960143

Book Description

The population of Ireland is five million, but 70 million call themselves Irish. Here is their story in all its richness and complexity. Tim Pat Coogan traveled around the world where green is indeed worn to talk to the people who weaved the tale of "a dream born in a herdsman's shed and the secret scriptures of the poor." Along with American presidents, best-selling authors and Riverdancers, Ireland gave the world a caring tradition borne by missionaries and teachers who spread a message of hope and the panorama of their life abroad comes alive in this magisterial work.

Customer Reviews:

It's Good to be Green.......2004-07-04

I found this a fascinating and interesting read. There was so much information in it, that I must have taken over two months to read it. It's the sort of book that you could put down for three weeks and then come back at it without a problem. As a person who grew up in Ireland, I had some idea that as a race we had travelled the world but I would not have been aware as to the extent of that travelling and the similar hardships encountered to those who stayed at home. This is a book that every Irish person and I mean that in its broadest sense should delve into. I liked Tim's style of writing. His personal commentary very much added to the experience of reading this book.
Criticisms that I would have would be that the chapters were to long. Also in relation to the Irish churches influence on the world, he was right to highlight the great work done by missionaries but I do feel he could have given more information on the downside,i.e the minority who gave missionaries a bad name, those who ran the orphanages and industrial schools.
Its not to long ago that you would have found signs and notices in former colonial countries stating that "no Irish need apply". The opposite is now the case and most throughout the world are happy to have an Irish heritage. This book will endorse that feeling.

Ethnic Hagiography.......2003-09-12

I agree with cead1 and particularly with Charles Murphy in their reviews. Its hard to work out just who could take this stuff seriously and just what the objective was apart from making Irish emigrants like me hope that they never meet a non-Irish person who actually read it.

Its certainly the closest thing to an ethnic hagiography I have ever encountered where all Irish people are either good looking or distinguished or popular or a combination of all three.

His condesending attitude to women (even nuns) is breathtaking as is blanket inclusion of anyone with the remotest connection to Ireland as Irish. I was always happy in the knowledge that Sean Connery is a Scottish actor and that Michael Doohan is an Australian Motorcycle ace. Connery becomes "Scotch-Irish" , (others are Scoto-Irish?) in the pages of this book and Doohan an "Irishman ", not to mention half of Hollywood including Sharon Stone !

But probably the most insulting part is that the author appears genuinely astonished that an Irish person can be successful and influential in a variety of walks of life. Anybody and everybody who basically has a job which does not involve digging holes is listed.

By the way dont try and tip german bank clerks like the author, you might get arrested. I can't imagine the conversation when he left the bank. Christy Moore did not write " From Clare to here" it was Ralph McTell but of course he's English so tough on Ralph.

His discussion of a well known Boston (Irish) gangster who is still today on the FBIs most wanted list beggars belief. The guy is made out to be some kind of Robin Hood who kept the streets of South Boston safe and who is remembered for " giving a puppy to a little boy etc etc ". I hope this revelation gives comfort to his numerous victims.

All of the above coupled with really awful editing adds up to an extremely poor reading experience on a topic that would hold much promise in the hands of a serious writer.

Fascinating look at Irish throughout the world.......2002-11-19

Coogan takes on possibly his most adventurous project, as he traces the path of Irish immigrants throughout the world. As always, Tim Pat is thorough and his journalistic syle is very readable. The information contained in "Wherever Green is Worn" is fascinating. Anyone who picks up this book, no matter how much you know about the history of Ireland, will learn something new.

Wherever There's Green(backs) To Be Made.......2002-04-26

Tim Pat Coogan is one of the most widely read living Irish historians. His books on the IRA and the Troubles are standards, and his critical biography of de Valera has probably forever changed the way Ireland's largest-looming political figure will be seen. Unfortunately, "Wherever Green Is Worn" does not match Coogan's best work. It is sprawling and lacks focus, and this cannot entirely be his fault; despite the book's merits, I can't help but feel that it is ultimately just another rushed attempt by his publishers to cash in on the popularity of Irish culture.

The chief and indisputable strength of "Wherever Green Is Worn" is its ground-breaking sweep. Nobody has attempted this universal an examination of the Irish diaspora, and this becomes both an unassailable strength of Coogan's work and a dangerous pitfall, as I'll explain later. Suffice it to say, for now, that this book is a useful first word on the topic and will hopefully provoke more thorough and concentrated historiographies to fill in gaps and tell the story with more critical focus.

And now, to pickier stuff, because it's crucially symptomatic of the overall way in which Coogan's newest contribution has suffered from the inattentiveness of his publishers at St. Martin's, who really owed their author a better editor than he got.
1) First, there are numerous typos and grammatical errors in the book, with the greatest concentration in the initial pages.
2) Slightly more embarrassing is the misspelling of gratuitous foreign phrases, like the italicized French "trahison des clercs," which Coogan spells two different ways in the course of the book; if you have to throw high-falutin' French phrases around, you really want to get them right.
3) Then, there are errors in the Irish (and I find this more troubling because, as a language working to reassert itself, Irish does not need to be misused in major publications like this one) when in an endnote Coogan inexplicably renders the Irish for "kiss my arse" ("póg mo thóin") as "pogue mo tuin." (I pointed this out in amazement to a friend from Co. Kildare, and his response was, "Of course Coogan doesn't know Irish, he's a Dub!")
4) The discursive tangents are another thing a good editor could have attenuated. Do we need to know that the author's luggage was once lost in Boston, unless there's a point to the story or, at the very least, a punchline? Do such digressions explain why "Wherever Green Is Worn" is swollen out to almost 800 pages?
5) Finally, the page references are dodgy, as if the editors didn't track the changes in pagination through the successive drafts of the book. We are told, on page 386, that Coogan will discuss the nineteenth-century Fenian incursions into British Canadian territory on pages 408-410, but that's not the case. The discussion comes on 390, and Coogan's maps of his own book are useless, most likely thanks to careless editing that failed to account for numbering shifts during production.

This is not even to mention the occasionally chauvinistic posture that peeks out in discussions of women in "Wherever Green Is Worn." "Caroline Marland may have the looks of a top model, but she is Managing Director of Guardian News Ltd," Coogan writes on 129, and I wish this were the only time such a remark were let through (it happens several times in the book). No matter how unnecessary it is, no matter how irrelevant to the topic at hand, we are never spared the observation of an attractive woman.

These are fairly petty criticisms. However, what all of this indicates to me is that nobody took very much time preparing or proofing the manuscript of "Wherever Green Is Worn," and this shows through, painfully. Coogan admits in the introduction that he was compelled by his publishers to write no less than three other books (the better ones on Collins, de Valera, and the Troubles) while researching "Wherever Green Is Worn," and this goes a long way toward explaining why the book feels disjunctive and lacks any cohesion; in fact, many of its most powerful moments are precisely those in which Coogan is able to draw from his more sustained research into de Valera and the Troubles, recontextualized to foreground their impact on the diasporic Irish. As it is, individual episodes are instructive and entertaining, anecdotal though they often are. It's just the bigger picture that feels blurry.

And, ultimately, the question that organizes this book is left disappointingly unanswered: Who are the "Irish diaspora" mentioned in the title? Those who, born in Ireland, later emigrated? Those who were born abroad to Irish parents? Those who, so-called "plastic Paddies" like myself, have an Irish passport but were born and raised outside of Ireland? One of the problems in this book is that EVERYBODY'S IRISH. Because Irishness becomes in "Wherever Green Is Worn" (which turns out to be, well, everywhere) far too broad a concept, it loses any real value as a category. A tighter definition of the driving motif behind Coogan's study would have lent this book much more focus and power.

Village Idiot Historian Strikes Again........2002-01-14

Well, good old Pat's at it again. To apply the term "historian" to him is like describing the Klu Klux Klan as liberal.

His over simplistic atititudes towards Irish nationalism is an affront to the 6 million people who inhabit this island.

This was clearly written for the Irish-American, romantic armchair Noraid supporting nationalist movement which pontificate over a situation over three thousand miles away that they simply are incapable of understanding.Thus they rely on Pat for what they perceive to be the TRUTH as they wish it to be.

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