Book description
Penguin Specials are designed to fill a gap. Written to be read over
a long commute or a short journey, they are original and exclusively
in digital form. This is Saul David's compelling examination of one of
history's greatest battles.
On 22nd January, at Isandlwana in Zululand, South-East Africa, the
British Army suffered one of the worst defeats in its history. A camp
of 1,700 men, armed with state-of-the-art weapons and two artillery
pieces, was surprised and overwhelmed by a huge Zulu army equipped
with only spears. It became the seminal battle of the Zulu War, an
ill-conceived, incompetently executed and fruitless campaign for the British.
In this Penguin Short, Saul David presents a concise, devastating
and utterly gripping account of the most brutal of battles that will
transport you to the plains of Africa and the cauldron of war, and all
for less than the price of a cup of coffee.
Saul David is the author of several critically acclaimed history
books, including
The Indian Mutiny: 1857
(shortlisted for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature),
Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879
(a Waterstone's Military History Book of the Year),
Victoria's Wars:
The Rise of Empire,
and, most recently,
All The King's Men: The British Soldier from the
Restoration to Waterloo
. He has also written two bestselling historical novels set in the wars
of the late 19th Century,
Zulu Hart
and
Hart of Empire.
He is also an experienced TV and radio broadcaster.
