Men of Men

This is a good example of a wonderful story-teller using actual and contrived history to produce a superb tale. Is it exciting, sophisticated, challenging, and charming? Yes!!. Is it accurate? The people who know Africa would say "No". I am moderately familiar with the land. Would I read his writings? Yes??

The place is southern Africa and the time is the late 1800s. Diamonds have been found and the scramble is on to become rich. Among those headed to the diamond fields is the adventurer, Zouga Ballantyne. He is a capable man and knows Africa. He was born there and has made and lost fortunes there. He heads to the diamond fields with hope, not of becoming a diamond magnate, but of financing his real dream. He has a grand concession from the king of the Matabeles but has had no luck in raising capital. So it is that he turns to the diamond mines. With him he takes his wife and two sons. His wife is a frail thing and has been disillusioned too many times. She does not last very long before succumbing to the filthy conditions of the boom town. That leaves Zouga with his sons and his dreams. Mining is not easy. Labor is scarce and prices are inflated beyond belief. Still, he makes a go of it through hard work and honorable treatments of his peers. His sons develop, each with great skills and talents. Each make new relationships with the natives of Matabeleland. Eventually, though, the dream proves too elusive and each of the men, the boys are grown now, goes his own way. They are reunited under the leadership of Cecil Rhodes, the famous, or infamous Robber Baron of the Victorian age. Rhodes has dreams not only of personal wealth but of empire. The three Ballantyne men are an instrumental part of his plans to seize and hold Matabeleland. This story is well written and enjoyable to read. The characters are larger than life but believable and, the historically base ones seem true to form. It is a story of men with personal honor and men without any honor at all. This includes not only the Europeans but the native Africans as well. It is sad to see how some of the friendships developed early on are damaged or even destroyed by the later conflicts of world views and cultures. One cannot help but feel some sadness at the passing of the Matabeles and the Zulus before them.

First off, don't read this before its predecessor, "A Falcon Flies." All characters here are introduced in that book, the first of a four-book series on the Ballantynes. The first book is about the African slave trade, thickly larded with much sex and violence. This one's a bit better-- it follows lead character Zouga Ballantyne to the diamond fields of Kimberly, where he swears to make his fortune. We meet his sons and follow their adventures as well-- the book is best when it looks at the African tribes that must deal with white encroachment in the latter part of the 19th century. Smith writes gritty adventures/soap operas that entertain and inform, and while this one is good, it's not quite up to the standards of the Courtney novels, beginning with "Birds of Prey." Read that one first; if it piques your interest, you'll want to read the next 11 books in that series, then come back to try the Ballantynes....

I remember reading this book right through the night and realized it was the next day only when it was finished. Wilbur Smith not only has a way with words but he also includes a solid storyline, great plot, realism and very very believable characters.