Diamonds, Gold, and War (Volume 2 of 2) (EasyRead Comfort Edition): The British, the Boers, and the Making of South Africa

by Martin Meredith

SOUTHERN AFRICA was once regarded as a worthless jumble of British colonies, Boer republics, and African chiefdoms, a troublesome region of little interest to the outside world. But then prospectors chanced upon the world's richest deposits of diamonds and gold, setting off a titanic struggle between the British and the Boers for control of the region. It culminated in the costliest, bloodiest, and most humiliating war that Britain had waged in nearly a century, and left the Boer republics devastated. In this gripping history of the turbulent years leading up to the founding of the modern state of South Africa in 1910, Martin Meredith portrays the great wealth and raw power, the deceit, corruption, and racism that lay behind Britain's empire-building in southern Africa. Diamonds, Gold, and War is a tale of high adventure, high fi nance, and high politics that also shows the massive impact of white expansion on indigenous African societies. And it explains the rise of the virulent Afrikaner nationalism that eventually took hold, with repercussions lasting nearly a century.

Genres: Africa

524 pages, Paperback

Published September 16, 2009

About the author

Martin Meredith is a historian, journalist and biographer, and author of many acclaimed books on Africa.

Meredith first worked as a foreign correspondent in Africa for the Observer and Sunday Times, then as a research fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford. Residing near Oxford, he is now an independent commentator and author.

Meredith’s writing has been described as authoritative and well-documented, despite the pessimism inherent in his subject matter.

He is the author of Diamonds, Gold and War, Mugabe: Power, Plunder – which sold over 15 000 copies in South Africa, and The Struggle for Zimbabwe’s Future, The State of Africa and Nelson Mandela: A Biography, among many others.

His most recent book is Born in Africa, published by Jonathan Ball Publishers.

Reviews

[Gavin Whindus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meredith writes in a narrative style that makes reading history. like reading a novel. I was fascinated by this book, being a South African . It describes how South Africa evolved and its early history the great Diamond rush on Kimberly and how CJ Rhodes made his fortune. It also describes the early rears of the discovery of Gold and what it meant for the Boer Republics leading to the Jamieson raid and eventual downfall of Rhodes. Good read and one I would Highly recomend!!

[Jeff Newbery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb coverage of the emerging colonial states that will make up South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. A little too detailed for me in parts but overall, a very good read.