This is a very good general history of the Great Boer War.It benefits greatly from having a good introduction that tells the story of South Africa from the time of the earliest European colonists,through the history of the Voortrekkers,the First Anglo-Boer war and the Jameson raid,tracing the long tense relationship between the Boers and the British.

The book is supported by good clear maps,and a selection of contemporary sketches and photographs.Well recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about this sometimes neglected war.

This is a very good general history of the Great Boer War.It benefits greatly from having a good introduction that tells the story of South Africa from the time of the earliest European colonists,through the history of the Voortrekkers,the First Anglo-Boer war and the Jameson raid,tracing the long tense relationship between the Boers and the British.

Once into the war Farwell provides a good clear narrative,well illustrated with contemporary reports and letters.He copes well with the switch from conventional warfare to guerilla warfare half way through the war,and does not shrink from looking at some of the more unpalatable aspects of the war.He has a strong section on the infamous concentration camps that did so much harm to Britain's image at the time.Just as we have a good introduction,we also have a good conclusion,looking at some of the long terms consequences of the war.The only minor problem with this section is that Farwell was writing just before the fall of apartheid,and so some of his conclusions here are less relevant than they would have been at the time.

The book is supported by good clear maps,and a selection of contemporary sketches and photographs.Well recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about this sometimes neglected war.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

MAP: SOUTH AFRICA

PREFACE

PROLOGUE

1 The Birth of a People

2 Voortrekkers and Their Republics

3 The First Anglo-Boer War

4 The Jameson Raid

5 Moving Towards War

6 Eve of War

ACT ONE

7 The War Begins

8 Talana: The First Battle

9 Elandslaagte

10 The Battle of Ladysmith

11 Buller

12 Methuen

13 Magersfontein

14 Stormberg lunction

15 Before Colenso

16 Colenso

17 Black week

ACT TWO

18 Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener

19 Tabanyama: Prelude to Spion Kop

20 Spion Kop

21 After Spion Kop: Vaal Krantz

22 The Great Flank March

23 The Siege of Kimberley

24 Paardeberg

25 The Siege of Ladysmith

26 BIoemfontien

27 Decisions at Kroonstad

28 The Boer Revival

29 On the March to Pretoria

30 Mafeking

31 Pretoria

32 After Pretoria: Roodewal and Brandwater Basin

34 Advance to Komatipoort

35 The End of the Second Act

ACT THREE

36 Commandos in Cape Colony

37 Smuts's Invasion of the Cape

38 Fighting the Guerrillas

39 Soldiering on the Veld

40 Guerrilla Life

41 The Concentration Camps and Emily Hobhouse

42 The Concentration Camps: The Ladies Committee

43 Prisoners of War

45 Vereeniging: The Bitter End

46 Epilogue: The Dust Settles

GLOSSARY

NOTES

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX