The Great Anglo-Boer War

By: Byron Farwell

Narrated by: Nigel Patterson

Length: 23 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Great Boer War (1899-1902) - more properly the Great Anglo-Boer War - was one of the last romantic wars, pitting a sturdy, stubborn pioneer people fighting to establish the independence of their tiny nation against the British Empire at its peak of power and self-confidence. It was fought in the barren vastness of the South African veldt, and it produced in almost equal measure extraordinary feats of personal heroism, unbelievable examples of folly and stupidity, and many incidents of humor and tragedy. 

Byron Farwell traces the war's origins, the slow mounting of the British efforts to overthrow the Afrikaners, the bungling and bickering of the British command, the remarkable series of bloody battles that almost consistently ended in victory for the Boers over the much more numerous British forces, political developments in London and Pretoria, the sieges of Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley, the concentration camps into which Boer families were herded and the exhausting guerrilla warfare of the last few years when the Boer armies were finally driven from the field.  

This audiobook is a definitive history of a dramatic conflict by a master story teller and historian. Byron Farwell served as an officer in the North African and Italian campaigns in World War II and also in the Korean War. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1964, and is the author of Queen Victoria's Little Wars.

©2017 Byron Farwell (P)2019 Tantor

Excellent History of a Little Known War

I had read Packingham's book regarding the Anglo-Boer war and thought that to be the book to read to understand the war. I was wrong. This book not only discusses the war, but also the political situation during and after the war, which was very eye opening. Well worth the credit!

1 person found this helpful

Exceptional account of little known war

This is an absolute must have and probably the one of the most definitive historical accounts of the Boer Wars in South Africa, and the narration of this audiobook is phenomenal.

As an American in the 21st century it was hard to find information, especially an audiobook detailing this little known, yet important war at the turn of the previous century. It will scratch your itch if you want to be familiar with the Boer Wars, and has made me entertain the idea of vacationing in South Africa to see the battlefields and museums(I just wish it was a safe country like it use to be).

Well Written Badly Narrated

The narrator’s pronunciation of certain words eventually got the better of me. I couldn’t carry on and stopped listening to the book.

4 people found this helpful

Very Readable History

If you're into history you'll love this, Byron Farwell, brings all the separate strands of this history together in an very listenable way, the narration is excellent. Recommended!

Enlightening and intriguing

A wonderful historic epic of a book, really enjoyed this shines a light on imperial thinking of the time.

super book.

l read this book some years ago. it was. worth listening to again in audio

Excellent Book

Really enjoyed this extremely well researched book. it gives fascinating insight into the colonial days of Britain and the struggles of its subjects