The Washing Of The Spears: The Rise And Fall Of The Zulu Nation [Paperback]

Donald R. Morris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 1998

Filled with colorful characters, dramatic battles like Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift, and an inexorable narrative momentum, this unsurpassed history details the sixty-year existence of the world's mightiest African empire—from its brutal formation and zenith under the military genius Shaka (1787–1828), through its inevitable collision with white expansionism, to its dissolution under Cetshwayo in the Zulu War of 1879.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Donald R. Morris, a graduate of Annapolis, served in the Navy and later in the CIA. In addition to two novels, he has written columns and articles for theHouston Post, Atlantic Monthly, American Heritage, Proceedings, and the Encyclopedia Britannica, among others. He lives in Houston, Texas, where he publishes the Donald R. Morris Newsletter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 650 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306808668
• ISBN-13: 978-0306808661
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #70 in Books > History > Africa > South Africa

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive History of the Zulu War and much more...., August 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Washing Of The Spears: The Rise And Fall Of The Zulu Nation (Paperback)

When Donald Morris started to research a book on the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, he realized that the story would not be complete without an account of the rise of the Zulu clan out of the Mtetwa Empire to be one of the greatest native empires Africa has ever seen. Nor would it suffice to excise the tales of the tentative but soon irresistible tide of European expansion into Natal and their fascinating introduction to and intermingling with their Zulu neighbors.

Morris deftly wields all of this and more into this well researched and highly readable book. Personalities from the brilliant, psychopathic and yet strangely pathetic Shaka to the doomed romantic naivete of Louis Napoleon come colorfully alive in the narrative. Ditto with the richly illustrated locations, from a claustrophobic hut in an isolated kraal to the grassy endless expanses of Zululand. He'll further take you from the sheer horror of the desperate fighting at Islandwana, to the tragicomic pageant at Ulundi where one Empire exterminates another, with both dressed up in their glorious finery.

This is great history writing at its best. Your taken to a previous time and place and are given a front seat to a collision of worlds. A truly magnificent work.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget the movie(s), December 6, 2001

By 

J. Vanore "Novelist" (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Washing Of The Spears: The Rise And Fall Of The Zulu Nation (Paperback)

If you're interest was sparked by the likes of screen adaptations such as "Zulu," "Zulu Dawn" and "Shaka Zulu," you should take the time to read The Washing of the Spears. Morris takes his account from some of the only written records of the era. That, along with Chief Buthelezi's endorsement, gives the book a legitimacy that stands the test of time. I've read the book twice, studied the period in undergrad school and written college papers on the subject - Morris has the least biased and most accurate explanation in my view. ("Shaka Zulu" bordered on fantasy, and "Zulu" played fast and loose with the facts.) It is slow in spots, but one does not read such a book purely for its entertainment value. (Although it often entertains.) This book also goes a long way in explaining why South Africa is vastly different than the rest of that mysterious continent. It is worth your time and effort.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scholerly & entertaining history of the Zulu War., May 8, 2000

By 

Bob Jarvis - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Washing Of The Spears: The Rise And Fall Of The Zulu Nation (Paperback)

If you are seriously interested in the Zulu War then you really must read this account. Morris details (& I really do mean, details) the whole history from the colonisation of Africa to the Boar War. Obviously his emphasis is on the Zulu War & it's protagonists. I enjoyed his descriptive style, his unbiased characterisations & most of all, his rousing battle scenes. The account of the Rorkes Drift engagement is particularly impressive where he relates the events down to a room by room evacuation of the hospital. I found the post battle consequences & considerations well thought out & believeable. The early & mid 19th. century political machinations in South Africa are long & complicated & did bring forth a few yawns. Although I wouldn't personally recommend it, military historian purists could just read the book from the commencement of the war. It's a long, scholerly & entertaining history that's well worth the read.