Zulu Rising

Name: Zulu Rising
Rating: 4.48 (776 reviews)

by Ian Knight

First published 2010

Amazon

4.5(776)

Zulu Rising is Ian Knight’s large-scale reconstruction of the opening crisis of the Anglo-Zulu War, centred on Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift. Using British records alongside Zulu oral traditions, archaeological evidence and previously unpublished material, Knight follows individuals on both sides from the political origins of the invasion through the fighting of 22–23 January 1879.

The book gives full weight to the Zulu army as a military institution and to the experiences of Zulu participants, while also revisiting long-running disputes about British command decisions and the collapse of the Isandlwana camp. The defence of Rorke’s Drift is treated as part of the same unfolding campaign rather than as an isolated heroic episode. The result is a detailed military and social history of the battles and their aftermath.

Historical Periods

Battle of Rorke’s Drift1879 Battle of Isandlwana22 January 1879

Genres

Political History

Historical people

Cetshwayo kaMpande Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford John Chard1847–1897 Gonville Bromhead1845–1891 Henry Pulleine1838–1879 Dabulamanzi kaMpande1839–1886