Like Lions They Fought: The Zulu War and the Last Black Empire in South Africa

Of all of the books of 19th century South African History that I have read this provides the most fair and balanced account of the Zulu Wars. In spite of almost a century and 1/2 of ethnocentric historical research the author manages to lay out the facts in a fairly convincing manner. Both sides came from a culture with a long military tradition and both fought as best they could for reasons we can understand today. The Zulus were about protecting the homeland and keeping what they had and gaining a little more if they were lucky the British were about expanding their borders and gaining access to new resources. The Zulu were not black savages and the Redcoats were not all stand-ins for Rudyard Kipling. The truth as is often the case with history lies somewhere in the middle of the two extremes.

This is one of those rare books which attempts not only to explain the causes underlying a conflict, but also explores the psychology and culture of the participants. This book is well illustrated and easy to read. A good introduction to the topic, to be followed by Morrison's Washing of the Spears and all of Ian Knight's books.