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, but 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. Thomas Pakenham's was the first full-scale documentary history of the war to be attempted since 1910. His narrative is based on ...
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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, but 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. Thomas Pakenham's was the first full-scale documentary history of the war to be attempted since 1910. His narrative is based on first-hand and largely unpublished sources, from British and South African archives to the private papers, letters and diaries of the protagonists and soldiers of both sides, and the tape-recorded memories of over fifty survivors. Out of this historical goldmine, Thomas Pakenham has constructed a narrative as vivid and fast-moving as a novel, and throws new light on the blunders and personal feuds of the British generals. He writes movingly of the plight of the 100,000 black Africans who served both armies, and explains the final political victory of the Boers - how they lost the war but won the peace - with far-reaching consequences for Europe and South Africa.
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Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Good in Good jacket. Fifth printing from 1979. Dust jacket has light wear. Burgundy cloth boards are lightly worn at edges. Binding is good. Pages are crisp, clean, and unmarked. 718 pages. LO.
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Good in Good dust jacket. 0394427424. Some minor soiling to cover cloth, jacket spine a bit faded with some wear at extremities.; Illus., maps, jacket (not price-clipped) now in a clear protector; 718 pages.
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Very Good. 718p. A hardcover book in near-fine condition with a like dustjacket. Owner's name stamp inside; otherwise clean and tight. The jacket has a touch of wear at the top of the spine and is lightly tanned on the reverse side, but is otherwise intact. Illustrated with two sections of black and white photographs.
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Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. Book. 8vo. (xxix) 719 pages, important dates before the war, sources, select bibliography, maps illustrated endpapers; wine cloth. Near fine; dust jacket very good-, light sunning, edgewear.
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Very Good in Very Good jacket. First Edition, First Printing. Not price-clipped ($20.00 price intact). Published by Random House, 1979. Octavo. Maroon cloth boards stamped in gold with photographic endpapers. Book is very good; with no writing or names. Sharp corners and spine straight. Binding tight and pages crisp. Dust jacket is very good with light shelf wear, nicks, and small scrapes on front. Book placed in custom acetate protector. 718 pages. ISBN: 0394427424. 100% positive feedback. 30 day money back guarantee. NEXT DAY SHIPPING! Excellent customer service. Please email with any questions or if you would like a photo. All books packed carefully and ship with free delivery confirmation/tracking. All books come with free bookmarks. Ships from Southampton, New York. We Buy Books! Individual titles, libraries, collections. Message us if you have books to sell!
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Near Fine Condition in Fair jacket. Burgundy boards with gold gilt lettering. Minor shelf and corner wear. looks very nice. Inside is nice and clean, minor age toning to pages otherwise text appears near new in appearance. DJ has done a good job protecting the cover DJ shows wear and tear to top of spine head and upper edge of DJ still looks good. Collectable Rare / Scarce Room # 596 718 pages. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Military & Warfare; England; History. ISBN: 0394427424. ISBN/EAN: 9780394427423. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 1561059180.
Recently, I had the opportunity to re-read (for the fourth time) Thomas Pakenham's magisterial history on the subject of, and titled, "The Boer War." This is an outstanding work at many levels: (i) great writing and use of primary sources including interviews of seventy (70) surviving Boer War veterans alive at the time of drafting; (ii) an excellent example of history as entertaining storytelling in the tradition of Thomas Carlyle; and (iii) gleaning insights from history as it relates to wars being fought more recently, indeed, even today.
I have recommended this work to students of Western military history (and used it myself as a source for research papers while as an undergraduate and graduate student), afficionados of British history and those studying insurgencies. It is a serious work for the military historian of the 1890-1914 period revealing the larger trends of war emerging in that era and providing parallels in the recent wars that the Superpowers have conducted in southwest Asia since 1979 (which incidentally is its year of publication). This book is also just plain fun to read and also recommended to the history enthusiast at large describing the oversized personalities of British and Boer political and military leaders, strategy and tactics and the life of the common soldier of both sides as well as the participation in this war of such future great leaders such as Mohandas Gandhi and Winston Churchill.
Read, learn and enjoy !
Wellington
Apr 19, 2012
Great overview
The book gives a comprehensive history of the Boer War. Great reading for those of us who want more background of the major players of the First World War.
Zippy
Dec 12, 2008
Great Book!
Wealth of information written as a novel. The author has obviously done his homework. We did not learn this in History class! Don't think you will finish this in one session. As an ex South African I was fascinated by this book. If you are interested in the history this is a must read.......