Dennis Judd's 'The Boer War'

I've just finished reading this - I highly recommend it to Year 12 students who are about to study the Boer War.

 

Unlike Pakenham's book, which deals with the war in a lengthy, though entertainingly written narrative, Judd's work is organised instead into chapters which focus on different aspects of the war as a whole.  In many ways this makes it a more accessible book than Pakenham's, although the latter probably remains the definitive work on the subject if you can battle your way through the whole thing!  The advantage of Judd's work is that those who are more pressed for time can read a chapter in isolation without feeling like they are missing out on the wider picture - for example, there is a chapter on the 'Pro-Boers', which I found particularly interesting.  Considering Lloyd George's steely conduct as PM during the latter stages of the Great War and beyond, it seems surprising to hear of him putting himself out on a limb to criticise the Boer War, and making himself unpopular to the extent that he was forced to flee one rally dressed as a policeman!

 

I shall certainly be adding this book to the reading list in the future. Unfortunately we do not have a copy in the library, but I ordered mine using the Cambridgeshire library inter-library loan service where several copies seem to be available.

 

I will be copying some sections of this book as reading for you in the future, but if you can get a copy i'd highly recommend it.