Review of Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana
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Melanie Botha 1
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- Latest Review: Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana by James Mace
Review of Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana
[Following is a volunteer review of "Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana" by James Mace.]
Brutal Valour, The Tragedy of Islandlwana by James Mace is an historical novel set in South Africa when it was still under British rule. It is a work of fiction but does follow the historical documents of the battle and has a lot of factual information. The photos, portraits and maps lend a lot of insight into this terrible time. The author has done a lot of research and has gone to a lot of trouble to not only capture this story but try to understand what happened. Even going into detail of the leadership and how the two armies are lead and how their hierarchies function with interesting anecdotes of where this may or may not be the best way of doing things.
With many intrigues, and sub plots we find a Zulu king forced into a war he was not looking for. We see ordinary British soldiers given little choice at a time when Queen and Country was all. And through it all the Valour of ordinary men put in extraordinary situations.
I found this to be one of the more objective books on this subject. History is always looked at with harsh criticism and we seem not to understand how these sad situations arise, however if we looked at the time for what it was and what the people of that time were going through perhaps we could try to understand. Africa was and is one of those places who's history can be viewed from many angles. The colonizers, both from Europe and those moving within the continent itself. The Zulus are one of the really stand out groups in southern Africa with their very strict traditions and loyalty taught from birth. To this day the royal families have interesting stories and customs. The recent death of the Zulu king has added a new dimension to this story as well.
The best part of this book could also be seen as it's worse. The amount of detail and facts although fascinating and mostly true can become a bit of a chore if you are not interested in either this particular battle or war stories in general. Definitely a read for those that are interested in history, war and period pieces.
This book had me thinking of a proverb I recently heard attributed to Native American Plains people : Make my enemy brave and strong, so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed.
I give this book a 3 out of 4. It kept my attention and I enjoyed it however it did have some grammar errors. Well written and well edited.
******
Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Brutal Valour, The Tragedy of Islandlwana by James Mace is an historical novel set in South Africa when it was still under British rule. It is a work of fiction but does follow the historical documents of the battle and has a lot of factual information. The photos, portraits and maps lend a lot of insight into this terrible time. The author has done a lot of research and has gone to a lot of trouble to not only capture this story but try to understand what happened. Even going into detail of the leadership and how the two armies are lead and how their hierarchies function with interesting anecdotes of where this may or may not be the best way of doing things.
With many intrigues, and sub plots we find a Zulu king forced into a war he was not looking for. We see ordinary British soldiers given little choice at a time when Queen and Country was all. And through it all the Valour of ordinary men put in extraordinary situations.
I found this to be one of the more objective books on this subject. History is always looked at with harsh criticism and we seem not to understand how these sad situations arise, however if we looked at the time for what it was and what the people of that time were going through perhaps we could try to understand. Africa was and is one of those places who's history can be viewed from many angles. The colonizers, both from Europe and those moving within the continent itself. The Zulus are one of the really stand out groups in southern Africa with their very strict traditions and loyalty taught from birth. To this day the royal families have interesting stories and customs. The recent death of the Zulu king has added a new dimension to this story as well.
The best part of this book could also be seen as it's worse. The amount of detail and facts although fascinating and mostly true can become a bit of a chore if you are not interested in either this particular battle or war stories in general. Definitely a read for those that are interested in history, war and period pieces.
This book had me thinking of a proverb I recently heard attributed to Native American Plains people : Make my enemy brave and strong, so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed.
I give this book a 3 out of 4. It kept my attention and I enjoyed it however it did have some grammar errors. Well written and well edited.
******
Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Brutal Valour: The Tragedy of Isandlwana by James Mace
