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The Washing Of The Spears
The Washing Of The Spears
Oct 11, 2024 8:27 PM

Author:Donald R Morris

The Washing Of The Spears

In 1879, armed only with their spears, their rawhide shields, and their incredible courage, the Zulus challenged the might of Victorian England and, initially, inflicted on the British the worst defeat a modern army has ever suffered at the hands of men without guns.

This is the definitive account of the rise of the Zulu nation under the great ruler Shaka and its fall under Cetshwayo. The story is studded with tales of drama and heroism: the Battle of Isandhlwana, where the Zulu army wiped out the major British column; and Rorke's Drift, where a handful of British troops beat off thousands of Zulu warriors and won eleven Victoria Crosses.

Acclaimed for its scholarship, its monumental range, and its spellbinding readability, The Washing of the Spears is a gripping portrait of not just the Zulu War of 1879, but also of Britain’s colonial policy at this moment.

Reviews

Superb

—— Noel Mostert , New York Times

Mr. Morris is evidently incapable of being dull... Hemingway would have relished his vigorous way of bringing history to life

—— The Times

An accomplished volume, anatomising the achievement of Zulu nationhood and its destruction by the British at the high watermark of Victorian imperialism.

—— Observer

The book to end all books on the tragic confrontation between the assegai and the Gatling gun... Colourful yet commendably fair

—— Times Literary Supplement

This magnificent book is not only a history of the Zulus, the "Black Spartans", from their rise under Shaka to the deliberate destruction of the independent Zulu nation through the war forced on them by Sir Bartle Frere, but also a full-scale immensely knowledgeable account of British Colonial and military policy in relation to Southern Africa, and of the men who carried it out.

—— Punch

A magnificent book, an explosion of truth-telling

—— Times Literary Supplement

Unusual, vivid, raw and revealing

—— Donald Woods , Sunday Times

Many books are called "searing". This one really is. Rian Malan, a journalist of solid Afrikaner stock, explores deeper into the darkness of late apartheid South Africa than any other writer

—— Economist

Includes all of Charlotte's know how and insider tricks into a book, (this is the) ultimate go to guide on how to care for this type of hair

—— Hello Magazine

A long overdue bible on textured and curly hair (...) Good Hair begins with the history and sacredness of the afro hairstyle, the part it played in the Black Power Movement and Mensah's own story'

—— Psychologies Magazine

Toby Green's transformative book repositions West African history in an entirely new light. It brings into focus the region's fundamental place in shaping the modern world as well as the powerful and also difficult legacy of this today.

—— Paul Reid, Director, Black Cultural Archives

Very seldom do I pick up a history book and wish I had written it myself. Toby Green's A Fistful of Shells is one such book. Brilliantly conceptualized, beautifully written, it breaks with colonially configured regional boundaries - which work to re-create unintended silos of knowledge - to imagine a West and West Central African Atlantic history of money, power, religion, and inequality that is as rich as it is sound.

—— Professor Nwando Achebe, Michigan State University

This book represents an extraordinary and admirable archival and bibliographic undertaking.

—— Times Literary Supplement

A vital book that offers us new, complex narratives to view African countries and their relationships to Europe and the Global North. Faloyin's stylish, propulsive prose blends history, memoir and opinion, so that reading him has the impression of being at the knee of a great storyteller.

—— Jonathan Nunn, editor of Vittles

Demonstrates how that old saying - "this time is different" - is both so true and so wrong!

—— Lord Stephen Green , former CEO and Chairman of HSBC and UK Minister of State for Trade and Investment, 2011-2013

Crashes are an integral part of the history of capitalism. The last century has seen plenty of them. All crashes begin with debt-fuelled euphoria and end in disappointment. Yet how bad that disappointment turns out to be also depends on where in the economy the crash falls and how determined and credible are the responses. In this lively and blessedly brief book, Linda Yueh does a lovely job of explaining the history and drawing the necessary lessons

—— Martin Wolf , Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times

This excellent overview identifies the ingredients that are specific to each crisis and common to all. She provides a lucid assessment of the efficacy of policy responses, high-lighting credibility as a necessary condition for successful resolution

—— Lord Nick McPherson, , former Permanent Secretary of the UK Treasury, 2005-2016, and Chairman of C. Hoare & Co.

"Why did nobody notice?" Was the question the Queen asked about the 2008 financial crisis. It was a good question. All financial crises and crashes have their own characteristics but they also often involve certain common features:- Irrational exuberance, Speculative frenzy, Greed and over confidence usually supported by high levels of gearing.

Linda Yueh's new book will be a timely reminder to governments and regulators of the warning signs of future crises

—— Lord Norman Lamont , former Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1990-1993

Timely, entertaining and full of useful insights

—— Gideon Rachman , Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, Financial Times

Renowned economist Dr Linda Yueh looks at past financial crashes - from the Wall Street Crash to the dot com boom and bust and the Covid pandemic - to explore what we can learn from them in this entertainingly written book.

—— i, Best New Books in May

Entertaining, well-written . . . [Yueh] has come up with a three-step framework to help spot when financial problems are brewing and identifies where the next may occur.

—— Ben Wright , Telegraph

A gifted writer (een begenadigd schrijver)

—— De Telegraaf
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