Customer Reviews

How Can Man Die Better: The Secrets of Isandlwana Revealed

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This is the best battle analysis of Isandlwana I have ever read! I have been a long time student of the Zulu War, in particular Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana. I was lucky enough last year to visit both battlefields and spent hours walking the field. I am a West Point graduate and former armor officer, so I do understand the nuiances of terrain and the disposition of troops. Lt Col Snook gets it right. Many of the histories I have read fall apart when you're on the battlefield. Why did Pulleine push his companies so far out, because he had to in order to see over the intervisibility lines present. Otherwise, he couldn't see into or shoot into the dead space on the other sides. I've always questioned the theories that the camp was simply overrun by sheer force of numbers. Men, no matter how aggressive, simply cannot charge into the face of disciplined fire and survive. Lt Col Snook's narrative agrees well with my own and follows a basic understanding of human bahavior, terrain analysis, and 19th century British doctrine. The British failed to laager the camp; that is known. If all #3 Column was in camp during the time of the battle, I believe, as Snook does, that the battle would have turned out differently. As it was, the camp had only half the numbers it needed to defend the frontages it had and was ultimately defeated in a double envelopement.

Based on this book, I am now looking forward to read Snook's book on Rorke's Drift.

Lt. Col. Mike Snook's account of Isandlwana stands as a solidly researched, solidly written reconstruction of one of the most famous battles of the Victorian British Army. "The Secrets of Isaldlwana Revealed" subtitle is perhaps a publisher's effort to generate cover interest, as Snook's book really does not say much startlingly new about the battle. It might be called a Post-Revisionist history, rejecting those works of recent years that questioned the courage and competence of the British soldiers who fought and died at Isandlwana (Snook is particularly disdainful of those writers who challenge the appropriateness of the award of the Victoria Cross to Lieutenants Melvill and Coghill for their effort to save the battalion colors.) Although Snook certainly gives the Zulus credit for their bravery and skill, he assigns chief blame for the disaster to Lord Chelmsford (for setting up the whole situation) and to Lt. Col. Durnford (for tactical errors and poor leadership). It might be argued that Snook's service in the successor regiment to the 24th has led him to give a "free pass" to Col. Pulleine, as the author seems to find nothing remiss in that officer's handling of the battle, and in fact Snook vigorously defends Pulleine's actions. And Snook has nothing but praise for the men and officers of the 24th and the way they fought.

Although "How Can Man Die Better" may be too much a professional military man's book to fully engage the general reader, I certainly think highly enough of it to look forward to the publication of Snook's companion volume about Rorke's Drift.

This is everything a military history book should be. This fantastic book, written by a serving British officer, Lt. Col. Mike Snook, tells the story of the battle of Islandlwana. Col. Snook calls on a plethora of sources, including his own training and experience, to tell the story of the opening battle in the Zulu war where the British lost 1200 men in an utter defeat.
The battle is laid out in great detail based on original sources, with some interpretation & re-interpretation from Col. Snook, until the point at which all the possible witnesses, except Zulu warriors, are gone. From that point on, Col. Snook goes into a forensic military mode, determining movements & positions of units from their origin points to the place where their corpses were found. This leads to a more thorough and complete story, founded on evidence if not eye witness testimony, that tells a lost portion of the battle. He also pops hoary old myths like the quartermaster who won't distribute ammunition or the ammo boxes no one can open as well as others.
It makes for a fantastic read. I can't wait to get on to "Like Wolves On The Fold", the second book by Col. Snook, which tells the story of Rorke's Drift. I hope we'll see lots more books from Col. Snook. His first is destined to become a classic.

Col. Snook provides an in depth view of the battle at Isandlwana largely from a British/European perspective and does it masterfully. I am adding my review to others on Amazon and will not belabor the points well made by other reviewers. If you are interested in the Zulu wars from a tactical perspective (thus from a soldier's perspective), THIS IS THE BOOK TO BUY. I know Donald Morris and respect his work, THE WASHING OF THE SPEARS. Donald is not perfect and he made mistakes in his account of the battle and his drum has been beaten by others in their accounts. Col. Snook sets things straight. I attribute this to Col. Snook's soldier's eye for terrain and logical battlefield progressions. Col. Snook was a soldier and Donald Morris was a member of the American Intelligence Community. It's telling in their writings. ---oh, just buy the book!

Been reading about this battle since the 70s. Starting with Morris and moving through Knight, we have evolved to this highly detailed and scholarly analysis based on evidence and professional insight. I was sorry when the book ended! Savor every word. This will be hard to top.

Mike Snook's account of the Battle of Isandlwana while an enjoyable read, does not stand up to actual historical scrutiny. It is too often plauged by the author's subjectivity and his habit of using his opinion as a military man in the place of true historical sources. He is basically an apologist for the 1/24th , his old regiment (although I don't see why such brave soldiers need an apologist.)

The authors attempts to (re)scapegoat Col. Durnford is deplorable and not based on the factual account but rather on his opinion (at various times he claims to know what Durnford was thinking, unfairly implys that he is only concerned with glory, relates events that never happened as if they were fact and criticizes and second-guesses Durnford at every opportunity.) He attributes very self-serving and petty motivations to, acccording to all accounts, a very brave and honorable man. He obviously has a complete lack of respect for Col. Durnford, who was a Royal Engineer, and not a member of the author's old regiment. At the same time he completely excuses Col. Pulline's poor distrubution of resources and magically seems to recreate Pulline's actions and thoughts without the least bit of hard evidence(instead using statements like "that's where a commander would be" or "his training would not have allowed him to do anything else".) He ignores evidence if he doesn't like it, such as his claim that there was no problem opening the ammunition boxes because you could "probably" break the box open with a rifle butt or other tool (he says this dispite repeated first-hand accounts detailing the problems and actually recreations that have shown just how hard it was to open the ammo boxes.) He dismisses first hand accounts of the quartermaster refusing to give ammunition to soldiers from the other battalions as "militarily ludicrous" because that just not how "quartermasters work".

Sorry, I did not mean to go on a tangent, but I implore you to be careful. Col. Snook can cleverly make his ouija-board like reconstructions seem historically sound. I am a former combat arms officer myself and while that may give me a degree of military insight, it does not make me clairvoyant. I believe that Col. Snook (either by design or perhaps unintentally) engages in unsound and unsupported revisionist history.

With this book, Lt. Col. Snook has given a fresh look at this significant, historical event. His military service and numerous visits to the sites of the battle have given him a unique perspective. He has based his conclusions on facts when available and on experience and logic when not. Combined with his wonderful narrative style, the telling never becomes mired down in mere numbers or lists. My attention was complete from start to finish. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest for military history in general and especially for an avid historian following the campaigns of Queen Victoria's "Thin Red Line of Heroes". Bravo, Col. Snook!

I absolutely loved this book especially the authors analysis of the last hours of the Isandlwana camp. Unlike some other authors he has used the positioning of the bodies to, in my opinion, correctly theorise that the 24th and Colonial troops staged gallant and protracted last stands.
I would however like to make some points of disagreance with the author.
Firstly in regards to ammunition or lack off, once the right broke and the line was withdrawing on the camp, it mattered not one bit if the regular troops had sufficient ammunition, there were to few in the squares to hold back thousands of Zulus each striving to wash his spear in blood. So annihilation was just a matter of time. The lack of ammunition on the bodies only means they may have been looted after death.
Secondly, the authors justification of so many officers leaving the field to save their lives, is completely wrong. To leave the infantry to its fate in this way is verging on cowardice. Curling, who had been on the firing line, was at least trying to save the guns, the others just themselves. I can only imagine the despair felt by the infantry troops to see their mounted officers fleeing through the camp. Chelmsford himself was embarrassed at so many officers surviving, Wolseley was far more vocal in his disapproval.
Thirdly, the apportioning of blame to Durnford and the authors scant regard for the NNC. History and further evidence has exonerated Durnford, so little more needs to be said. He at least stayed with the troops when he could easily have escaped. Lastly I might add, that over 100 European Officers and NCO's of the NNC died on the field that day, mostly in the vicinity of the camp. They at least did not run.

Lieutenant Colonel Mike Snook gives the most detailed in-depth account of the Anglo-Zulu War 1879 yet. I have been to Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift and thought I had a pretty good grasp of the historical context of before, during and after the events of January 21st to 23rd 1879. After reading Lt. Colonel Snooks book 'How Can Man Die Better', (battle of Isandlwana) and his follow up book 'Like Wolves On The Fold' (battle of Rorke's Drift), I now have to go back. His analysis give's a completely new picture of the events before, during and the aftermath of the battles. Lt. Colonel Snook tries to use the best available sources to give a detailed look at the battles from both the Anglo/British and Zulu point of views.

Lt. Colonel Snook is a serving British officer who gives insight into the conflicts from a professional soldier's point of view. His third book 'Into the Jaws of Death' gives a further look at Isandlwana from the point of view of a military blunder that did not have to happen. But shows how events on a battle field can change in the span of a few minutes. Of how an officer or officers can loose control in that same span of time. His intro to 'Into the Jaws of Death' gives a detailed account of what it may/might have been on the firing line through the eyes of the real soldiers such as Sergeant Shaw and G Company's commanding officer Lieutenant Charles Pope and their last moments alive on the battlefield of Isandlwana. Unbelievably eye opening.

If you are a military historian, arm chair or other wise or an American Anglophile like myself, all three are a must read. After reading these books Lt. Colonel Snook gives detailed information on visiting the area and the battle fields, from where to stay to museums and guides, in his book `Like Wolves On The Fold'. The folks at the Battlefield Visitors Centers at both Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift are extremely nice and helpful and would love to share their history with you. I recommend the visit.

I have read much of the material published over the years on this battle and the Ango Zulu war in general. All accounts of this military disaster have left me unsatisfied with many questions remaining. They often just didnt make much sense. I consider Mike Snooks account of Isandlwana and his volume on Rorkes Drift "Like Wolves on the Fold" to be the best written on the subject. The application of years of research added to the crucial application of "military common sense" result in completely believable account that answers many outstanding questions and is also, by the way, a cracking good read. I have since also read Mikes book on British military blunders (cant remember the title) and found it equally authoritative. If you are looking to really understand what happened under the shadow of the 'sphinx' you can't do better than 'How Can Man Die Better'. Looking forward to his next book!