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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 5:06 pm

For my A-Level coursework, i have chosen to do my essay on Isandlwana.
I need some Analytical books on this battle not purely narrative. For my argument i need to consider both sides so are they any books with sources from the zulus themselves?
I need around 4 or 5 books overall not all by the same author, what can you all recommend?

Many thanks

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:35 am

I'd try those by Mike Snook and Ron Lock.

AMB

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:47 am

Depends on you financial resources. There is a wealth of information available on this website, including a listing of most books available.
First you need to establish the facts, the date of the battle, the particpants, the weapons used, the movements of the forces taking part and the result i.e. casualties on bothe sides.
The essay should however begin with the causes of the AZW conflict and the events preceing the battle. The ending would be accounts of RD, other major battles the conclusion - Cetswayo's fate and if appropriate a synopsis of the resulting political developments - the zUlu civil war, imperialism, colonialism, apartheid and the current political status.
My recommendations are
HMCDB M Snook
Zulu Victory RL & PQ
Whos Who AG & IK
The Sun turned black IK
A soldiers artist in SA DR
A field Guide to the Zulu War JL & PT
There are numerous others
To get the "other view" you would need History of the Zulu War FWC (expensive) but available with many others from DP & G
Visit Brecon if possible
Check with your library
Search the web, there is plenty of free info available - as a South African suggest www.samilitaryhistory.org - Journal and scroll to the appropriate articles
Do not expect the same advice from everybody, but don't be afraid to ask there are lots of knowledgable people who will offer help/advice
Investigate and draw your own conclusions
Good Luck with your task

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:08 am

I left out the part you requested on Zulu Authors.
To my knowledge there is no book written on the battle by a Zulu author.
Extracts and testimony given by Zulus is included in several books, but like much of what is written by others, may be suspect.
By tradition Zulus passed their history by word of mouth (repetitive accounts of history/traditions etc) from father to son/s. Please note that this is no longer the case especially among educated urban residents.
If you wish to read an African author on general African history i can suggest
Indaba my children - Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa
Blood from your children - Benedict Canton
An extract from the first
" These people were told the history of the tribes, under oath never to alter, add or subtract any word.Anyone who so much as thought of changing any of the stories of his tribe that he had been told fell immediately under a High Curse which covered him, his children and his childrens children. These tribal story-tellers were called guardians of the Umlando or Tribal History[/i]

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:38 am

DJ

Unless you have time to get hold of and read and analyse a considerable number of relevant works, I'd recommend a couple which might be regarded as essential before - and ahead of - all others:

FWD Jackson: Hill of the Sphinx

Ian Knight: The Sun Turned Black (that's the SA title - published in UK as Zulu: Isandlwana & Rorke's Drift, 22/23 January 1879)

There are several other analytical attempts, as you'll see above, and you'll find some of the worthwhile SAMHJ material is also available online, as also suggested above. Keith Smith's Zulu War Sourcebook will also provide you with much of the more relevant and detailed primary source material from which you will be able to understand the battle more clearly.

No work on Isandlwana is perfect or complete (otherwise it wouldn't be such a fascinating topic) and some are openly conjectural. A few leave much to be desired. As you widen your reading, you may well become increasingly confused! Zulu accounts are largely limited to brief quotes from eyewitnesses and post-war interviews published at the time, most of these being cited in many of the works. A whole host of memoirs and letters on the battle have been published but your time will presumably not be unlimited and there will be a limit to the length of your essay. A look at some of the back topics in this section of the forum (i.e. AZW books) will enlighten you considerably.

First and foremost, though - without a doubt - must be Jackson. It is the least unreliable or conjectural and will form the skeletal framework from which you will be able move on and make your own conjectures when you read other works as well. It is still widely available, even in its former guise as Isandlwana: The Sources Re-examined.

As an example of the confusion which, for many months, surrounded the understanding of what had actually happened, contemporary press reports during 1879 will serve to underline how differently we see the battle today compared with those who read the reports of the time. For this route, I'd suggest The Times digital archive online and/or The Red Book, which is a compilation of press reports relating to the AZW appearing in the Natal newspapers during 1879 & published a few years ago by Ron Lock & Peter Quantrill.

Good luck!

Peter

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 10:41 am

Also recommend CD's The Day of the dead Moon by the late David Rattray
to get the broad picture
Was going to add Hiil of The Sphinx or anything else by FWD Jackson

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:05 pm

where can i get hold of keith smiths sourcebook?

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:05 pm

DJ

See the online shop details of the Royal Regiment of Wales Museum on the links on this rdvc site, where Keith Smith's works & Jackson's book, as well as others, can be found. If you buy through the museum you'll be directing your funds to a very worthwhile destination.

If purchasing is not an option for you, try the inter-library loan via your own local public library.

Peter

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:13 pm

Dear DJ,
I bought the vast quantity of books I now possess on the AZW campaigns from Brecon as it supports a very good cause indeed. However, in the event that you can't find what you want then there's the remotely suitable alternative choices of www.play.com and www.abebooks.co.uk The book I'm currently reading is 'Zulu Kings and their Armies' by Jonathan Sutherland and Diana Canwell, which I am rather enjoying.
Has anybody else on this forum bought 'Warrior' by Allan Mallinson. I saw this featured in the 'books' section of the 07/06/08 edition of the Spectator magazine (rrp �17.99-see www.hervey.info) The Jacket blurb of this work reads. 'In South Africa Mathew Hervey clashes with the Warrior Kings of the Zulus'. Despite the large and expensive add for the book in the Spectator there was no review in that edition of the magazine.

Tony.

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:21 pm

Tony,

I am reading Mallinson's latest now. Quite fun, well researched and well written. Interesting historical fiction.

AMB

NB. Ex Brigadier Mallinson's first name is Allan, not Mathew. His leading character is Matthew Hervey.

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:34 pm

Dear AMB,
on that basis, I think I will go out and buy the book and indulge in a bit of AZW fiction. Well spotted on the first name error which I've just corrected so as not to mislead anybody. You're quite right in that it is 'Allan Mallinson' and 'Mathew Hervey' is the character featured in the book ( that's what I get for juggling I.T course homework with viewing rdvc.com and not paying attention!). Cheers.

Tony.

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:57 pm

Tony,

Not AZW. Set in 1828. Shaka's time.

Don't pay the �17.99 cover price - Amazon will do better! Try:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_/026-5938703-4644424?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=%27Warrior%27+

Enjoy.

AMB

Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 8:20 am

Tony,

How did you enjoy the Mallinson book?

AMB

Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:23 pm

I "missed" this post when it first appeared, so I don't know if the information is still required. However, I do have two recommendations, not listed above, which are:

John Laband's "Rope of Sand" which has a detailed Zulu account

and

Ian Knight's "Isandlwana" in the Osprey Campaign Series.

The latter is fairly recent and reflects an up to date viewpoint on the battle.

Bill