When KK falls in love with fellow teacher Katryn van der Merwe, he invokes the wrath of his whole family – dead and alive. For KK is short for Kgoroto Mashobohleng, which surely signals a mismatch. Besides which he dumped his childhood sweetheart, whom the forefathers had earmarked for his bride. Not only is Katryn very white and very Afrikaans, she is also very much a vegetarian. Soon rumours are flying about KK’s village that a white woman is pulling him by the nose and made him stop eating meat. His family is horrified: What will he slaughter when they commune with the gods? A tomato? The path of love is never easy, but worse for KK as he ventures into bigoted terrain. One thing is certain: if a wedding comes of this, some nervous inlaws will be lining up on both sides of the aisle.
This “fascinating” biography of a South African-born warrior provides a window into a full century of military conflicts(Adam Makos, New York Times–bestselling author of A Higher Call). Four-War Boer traces Pieter Krueler’s highly colorful life from the Second Boer War, where he first served as a fourteen-year-old scout, to his service in World War I with the German army in East Africa to the Spanish Civil War to World War II, this time with the Allies, and on into the latter part of the twentieth century, when he served as a mercenary during the 1960s Congo Crisis. Later, in his eighties, he became a civilian trainer for the original Selous Scouts of Rhodesia and, later still, a trainer for South African commandos. The book follows Krueler through a remarkable career that included, among other adventures, leading native African soldiers on extremely dangerous missions in the Belgian Congo; volunteering as a mercenary during the Spanish Civil War, during which he worked with the Pyrenees Basque movement; serving as a coast watcher to keep South Africa safe from German incursion; and fighting alongside Michael Hoare during the 1960s Congo Crisis. A chapter is devoted to the formation of Rhodesia’s highly elite Selous Scouts, along with highlights of several previously classified missions. This material includes a wealth of new information, and breaks the secrecy surrounding Rhodesian and South African special operations, as unveiled through the experience of a man who was a founding father of counterinsurgency in Africa. Based on six years of historical research through hard-to-find secondary and published primary sources, as well as extensive interviews with Krueler himself, and interviews with German officers and others who knew and worked with him, this biography is filled with extensive first-person testimony that gives it the immediacy of a memoir.
The history of the Boer identity is an epic saga. The Boer identity emerged in the isolation of an expansive landscape and evolved as a unique cultural entity deeply rooted in the principles of individualism, localism, independence, and freedom. The development of the Boer identity is an action-packed tale of sacrifice, suffering, loss, victory, and resilience that shaped the Boer identity. "What sets 'The Creation of the Boer Identity' apart is that it challenges the traditional perspective, which has never focused on the creation and development of the Boer identity." "It is a comprehensive exploration of the formation of the Boer identity." "The book has been extensively researched, and include information and insights not previously published in history books." "The book describes correspondence and public statements by key figures discussing specific events of that time, adding a personal and historical dimension to the story. It not only narrates the events but also provides factual insights behind them." "This work presents a fresh perspective on the history of the Boers from the viewpoint of the Boer identity." DISCOVER THIS ASTOUNDING CHRONICLE AND WITNESS THE BIRTH OF A NATION THROUGH THE LENS OF ITS TRUE IDENTITY
The story of the battle for independence from the British Empire in South Africa by “a vivid chronicler of military forces, generals, and wars” (Kirkus Reviews). The Great Boer War (1899-1902), more properly known as the Great Anglo-Boer War, was one of the last romantic wars, pitting a sturdy, stubborn pioneer people fighting to establish the independence of their tiny nation against the British Empire at its peak of power and self-confidence. It was fought in the barren vastness of the South African veldt, and it produced in almost equal measure extraordinary feats of personal heroism, unbelievable examples of folly and stupidity, and many incidents of humor and tragedy. Byron Farwell traces the war’s origins; the slow mounting of the British efforts to overthrow the Afrikaners; the bungling and bickering of the British command; the remarkable series of bloody battles that almost consistently ended in victory for the Boers over the much more numerous British forces; political developments in London and Pretoria; the sieges of Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley; the concentration camps into which Boer families were herded; and the exhausting guerrilla warfare of the last few years when the Boer armies were finally driven from the field. The Great Boer War is a definitive history of a dramatic conflict by the author of Queen Victoria’s Little Wars, “a leading popular military historian” (Publishers Weekly).
Native Life in South Africa (1916) is a book by Solomon T. Plaatje. Written while Plaatje was serving as General Secretary of the South African Native National Congress, the work shows the influence of American activist and socialist historian W. E. B. Du Bois, whom Plaatje met and befriended. Using historical analysis and firsthand accounts from native South Africans, Plaatje exposes the cruelty of colonialism and analyzes the significance of the 1913 Natives’ Land Act. “Awaking on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African Native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth.” Native Life in South Africa begins with the passage of the 1913 Natives’ Land Act, which made it illegal for Black South Africans to lease and purchase land outside of government designated reserves. The act, which was the first of many segregation laws passed by the Union Parliament, was devastating to millions of poor South African natives, most of whom relied on leasing land from white farmers to survive.Native Life in South Africa is a classic of South African literature reimagined for modern readers.
This exciting new book marks a major shift in the study of the South African War. It turns attention from the war's much debated causes onto its more neglected consequences. An international team of scholars explores the myriad legacies of the war - for South Africa, for Britain, for the Empire and beyond. The extensive introduction sets the contributions in context, and the elegant afterword offers thought-provoking reflections on their cumulative significance.
Screenwriter Nunn draws on her true-life experience growing up in Africa to create this darkly romantic crime novel set in 1950s apartheid South Africa. Detective Emmanuel Cooper is caught up in a time and place where racial tensions and the raw hunger for power make for dangerous times.
Fanie Fourie is a true blue boere seun with an unrepentantly macho approach to love and life in general. But his world view undergoes an abrupt reinvention when he is 'bitten by the louse and bedbug of love' and falls head-over-heels for Dimakatjo Machabaphala, a beautiful black nurse. In pursuit of true love, these lovers must steer a path through the challenging intricacies of inter-cultural negotiation and leap the hurdles of racial bigotry, tenacious former lovers, and the like, finally to emerge triumphant as traditionally united man and wife. This delightful novel is filled with naughty humor and ironic reversals of stereotype. With a deft and humorous pen, the author evokes the colliding worlds of traditional and contemporary culture in a South Africa still struggling to renegotiate roles and relationships and shake off the complexes and prejudices of the past.
