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A White Man's War: An Historical Novel of the Boer War and Mafeking Kindle Edition

by Graham Watkins (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 30 ratings

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An historical novel set during a landmark confrontation that dramatically changed the art of war. The story is inspired by a letter from the Boer commander General Piet Cronje;

Sir

It is understood that you have armed Bastards, Fingoes and Baralongs against us - in this you have committed an enormous act of wickedness...reconsider the matter, even if it cost you the loss of Mafeking... disarm your blacks and thereby act the part of a white man in a white man's war.

Signed

General Cronje 29th October 1899

General Cronje's orders are clear; take Mafeking and drive the British out of Africa but Colonel Baden-Powell, Mafeking's commanding officer, is no ordinary soldier and his defence of the town will be no ordinary fight. Themba Jabulani is a victim of a white man's war. A war where there are strange rules. A war where innocents will be sacrificed and heroes will be made. Jabulani is one of the innocents, struggling to survive with his wife Ntombi and young child. Cronje's letter signals the start of a siege that will last seven months. A strange gentleman's siege punctuated by truces, cricket matches and ferocious fighting.

A White Man's War is a story of a siege, regarded by some as a great adventure but by others as a human tragedy. Baden-Powell would learn from Mafeking and go on to found the Boy Scouts, the greatest youth movement the world had ever seen, while others, less fortunate like Themba Jabulani, would suffer a very different fate.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B011A9BHTC
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 1, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1978 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 159 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #2,327,127 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #668 in History of Southern Africa
- #881 in Biographical Literary Fiction
- #975 in Historical African Fiction

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4.1 30 ratings

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Graham Watkins

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Hi. I’m Graham Watkins and I have spent several years researching Welsh legends and myths. It has been a wonderful project and great fun as I explored rugged mountains, mysterious castles, enchanting waterfalls and golden beaches to discover the tales that have been handed down from generation to generation. Wales is a land of mystery and being a Celtic race the Welsh are fantastic story tellers. I've collected eighty of my favourite legends together in my book 'Welsh Legends and Myths.'

That’s how I started writing. My first novel 'The Iron Masters' was an historical novel set in Merthyr during the Napoleonic Wars when Merthyr Tydfil was rearming the British Empire, fortunes were being made through other's sweat and anything was possible. Today, I am a multi genre novelist, hobby farmer and explorer. It’s all been great fun and the story isn’t over yet. I've recently published 'A White Man's War,' the story of a terrible siege during which the Scouting movement was born and 'The Sicilian Defence' a novel about a young American Woman lured to Sicily to a terrible fate.

Right now I'm working on a modern day political thriller in which terrorists, computer programmers and a big brother state fight for their very survival. Checkout my website for the latest news and details of free eBooks which I love to give away. www.grahamwatkins.info I know you'll enjoy them and come back for more.

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Patrick

Great writing

Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2015

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An illuminating, fascinating account of the siege of Mafeking and a period in history that has shaped Africa to this day. The origins and development of the Boer conflict, the innocents that suffered as a result of a war between nations from outside their geographical sphere, is something that was to be repeated time and time again in the great continent of Africa. Here Graham Watkins demonstrates his wonderful writing prowess and his studied historical scholarship. The combination of his style and flair as a writer with his knowledge of history, make him one of my favourite writers. This is a tale of conflict filled with individual tragedy and some bizarre logic that is very much of its time. Cricket matches mid siege on Sundays to boost morale for example are just some of the strange happenings of the siege. That Baden Powell is known more for his founding of the scout movement is perhaps a legacy issue, for at the time he was hailed a hero. I really loved this book not just because I love a bit of history, but Graham Watkins fills the pages of his books with drama that keeps the reader engaged from the very first paragraph. This is my third Graham Watkins book and it will not be the last, Pick it up today 5 stars from me.

Helpful

Kent B.

Well-researched, descriptive account of a battle that impacted future wars

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2016

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I'm of two minds over this book. On one hand, it's a very detailed account of a battle few people realize impacted the future of war. I'm a big fan of 19th and 20th century history, so the story was fascinating. On the other hand, the book felt more like a blow-by-blow account of what happened than a fictional story. There was no preamble, no setting of the scene. The reader is just dropped right into the middle of the action. The story also bounced quickly from character to character without really developing any of them thoroughly.

My hats off to the author for his phenomenal research. There were times when I was convinced he was actually there. The realities of a protracted siege really came through vividly.

There were three other things I thought the story could benefit from: 1) an explanation of local terms like veldt, stadt, et al, 2) clearer section breaks to denote a change in POV, and 3) a careful copy edit to catch the remaining typos.

Ultimately, I think this story was simply too short. If more time was spent developing the protagonists and antagonists, I do think readers would be captivated by not just the war itself but by the characters and their internal/external struggles.

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2016

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Good perspective with particular focus on the natives

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Ray Miller

Superlative Boer War Novel!

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2015

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A very gripping and insightful look into one part of the Boer War. This book succeeds in presenting the grit and passions of families and soldiers in war. Watkins portrays the tribes and individual black characters subjected to this colonial conflict with enough depth to create a realistic drama. As a historic novel, Watkin's book, "A White Man's War," offers terse but eloquent accounts of the trauma and victories that all of these people experienced. Watkins uses a realism that is impacting without bogging the story down by overly graphic detail, reminiscent of James Clavell's style for me. The strategies of opposing English and Boer commanders is presented with enough character development to make me feel the turnings of wizened personalities under stress. Excellent Book!

Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2015

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I am military officer, a retired colonel and I am captivated by the boer war. After two tours in Vietnam and as a young man raised in a military family continue to be amazed of lessons not learned and the disregard of the helpless in war. An amazing book! I am the husband of a remarkable lady life loved, gayla miller.

One person found this helpful

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Mr Martin Marais

A Quick Read.

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2016

While I enjoyed this novel very much, when I finished it, I was left with a feeling that it had more to offer. The story of the siege of Mafeking is an exciting and historically important story and a number of very interesting characters took part in the action. The story, as told, is perfectly adequate, but the characters were somewhat two dimensional. There was little description of either their physical appearance or their personalities. Indeed, the setting gets the same treatment and I was not able to visualise the locations with any real detail. The plot in itself is, of course, exciting, and kept the pace of the story going at a good rate, however the opportunity to really build up the tension and excitement was missed. The historical importance of the event offered a great opportunity to allow the characters time to reflect, either through thought or dialogue, on the situations in which they found themselves. This could have provided a much deeper and richer experience for the reader, again I feel this was a missed opportunity. Having said all that, this is not a poorly written novel, it is just thinner than it might have been. But if you like stories that get straight to the point with no dilly-dallying then this story will be for you. The Battle of Paardeberg: Lord Roberts' Gambit.

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A White Man's War book review by Sharon Laker

Reviewed in Canada on March 1, 2016

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This is a novel based on the recorded historical events of The Siege of Mafeking, in South Africa during The Boer War. The siege lasted two hundred and seventeen days and turned Baden-Powell into a British national hero.
Besides addressing the ingenuity, some might argue incompetence, of the British the author focuses on a dark side of the war; the abominable treatment of the native people. If it wasn't for the Baralong, Black Watch who fought alongside the British, Mafeking would have fallen and Baden-Powell would have been considered a minor historical role.
The story of Themba Jabulani, and his wife Ntombi, a Zulu Princess, bring to light the many hardships that were endured by the Baralong. One hundred and seven thousand black Africans were interned during The Boar War. Many died from starvation, disease, or were executed for stealing food.
After the war England raised twenty nine thousand pound, to rebuild Mafeking. Not one penny of this money went to the Baralong people, who lost everything.
The importance of this author's book can't be stressed enough. The atrocities committed against the native people needs to be shared, and that is what Graham Watkins has done in "The White Man's War."
Having said that, this is also an adventure describing the resilience of a man in the face of incredible hardship which has the makings of a excellent movie.

Sharon Laker
Author

Roy Boyington

Great novel of monumental events.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2015

Verified Purchase

Graham Watkins has again produced a wonderfully informative novel which gives the reader an insight as to the attitudes prevalent at the time of the Boer war.
The siege of Mafeking is something people of my age group are normally aware of, but thanks to Graham Watkins yarn I am happy that I now understand broadly why the siege lives on in legend.
Graham is quite good at allowing the reader to construct their own understandings of the human emotion from his character portrayals, never giving too much to spoil your "minds eye" picture.
Well done, Graham Watkins.

Mr Martin Marais

A quick Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 1, 2016

Verified Purchase

While I enjoyed this novel very much, when I finished it, I was left with a feeling that it had more to offer. The story of the siege of Mafeking is an exciting and historically important story and a number of very interesting characters took part in the action. The story, as told, is perfectly adequate, but the characters were somewhat two dimensional. There was little description of either their physical appearance or their personalities. Indeed, the setting gets the same treatment and I was not able to visualise the locations with any real detail. The plot in itself is, of course, exciting, and kept the pace of the story going at a good rate, however the opportunity to really build up the tension and excitement was missed. The historical importance of the event offered a great opportunity to allow the characters time to reflect, either through thought or dialogue, on the situations in which they found themselves. This could have provided a much deeper and richer experience for the reader, again I feel this was a missed opportunity. Having said all that, this is not a poorly written novel, it is just thinner than it might have been. But if you like stories that get straight to the point with no dilly-dallying then this story will be for you. The Battle of Paardeberg: Lord Roberts' Gambit.

mx

A romping read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2015

Verified Purchase

Fascinating. This gives a new perspective on Baden-Powell and the complete disregard for the lives of the indiginous black people.

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A White Man's War: An Historical Novel of the Boer War and Mafeking Kindle Edition

An historical novel set during a landmark confrontation that dramatically changed the art of war. The story is inspired by a letter from the Boer commander General Piet Cronje;

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