Diamonds, Gold, and War: The British, the Boers, and the Making of South Africa

Very insightful and educational book on a subject I knew very little of. I would highly recommend it to anybody wanting to learn more about early South African history.

Great book, and a great buy... I read it in a couple of days it kept me hooked.
It is very well written, and extremely interesting! I suggest anyone interested in Africa should read it.

The book mainly centers on the diamond, gold magnates such as Rhodes, Beit etc.
But it talks about the founding of Rhodesia, and South Africa.

What illuminating reviews preceed mine! I am a South African and never before have I had the privilege of reading a more fair-minded and factual treatment of the history of my own people.It reveals South African history, its strenghts and weaknesses, with equal objectivity. The exciting and rolicking pace never lets up. Read this book, as they say in the classics.

If you're interested in African history, this is one good read. It can get a little dry in parts but the book receives high marks for its thoroughness, biographical detail and detailed maps. Although it covers only about 40 years of South Africa's history, much of what transpired during the late 1800's established life in South Africa for much of the next century. It's really a dual biography of Cecil Rhodes and Paul Kruger and their influence on this former out-of-the-way British colony. If you like to read about how great fortunes are made and the machinations and manuevering behind them, this "in-depth examination" of Cecil Rhodes' life is a good primer.

Very few histories of this depth and detail can sustain 500+ pages and keep the reader as engaged as though s/he were reading a thriller. This book is one of them.

Some of Martin Meredith's talent is in describing the main characters. Portraits of Cecil Rhodes and Paul Kruger are masterpieces. His other talent is describing the settings for instance, the respective cultures of the settlers, the freewheeling diamond/gold rushes and the devastation of war. The marvelous descriptions sustain the reader through the dry but important financial dealings, military maneuvers, and legal complexities.

There are very few women in this book. Queen Victoria gets a few mentions, as does a female novelist, Paul Kruger's traditional wife and a stalker attracted to Rhodes. The plight of the Boar women left homeless and confined in camps is addressed, but there is nothing of the native African women. Hopefully future historians will explore the lives and roles of women in this period.

Two things about the history of South Africa are striking. One is how a very small number of people in key positions wanting war made it inevitable that many would suffer its devastating consequences. The other is the total racism of the Bible quoting Boars and the aquiescence of the British government to their racist demands. The Archbishop of Canterbury endorses what becomes the apartheid system with the salve to his conscience that the future will undo it.

This is a sorry, sorry story. It is a story of the making and execution of a completely unnecessary war and a step by step degradation of a native population.