Shaka's Children: A History of the Zulu People

by Stephen Taylor and Stephen Taylor

Book Overview

Western literature abounds with histories of nations and their leaders, but few texts have been offered on Africa's fierce and enduring Zulu people. Stephen Taylor, a writer for The Times of London,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0006384684
• ISBN13: 9780006384687
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.2" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Entertaining and free of academic mumbo-jumbo.

Because this book was released at the same time as John Laband released "Rope of Sand" there were bound to be comparisons, but Taylor escaped virtually unscathed. While Laband's masterpiece is majestic and quite brilliant, Taylor has assured his readers of an entertaining journey through nineteenth-century Zululand. Although there is no ground-breaking material contained in the book, it is well-researched and cleverly written. Taylor quotes extensively from the James Stuart Archives and other reliable sources. Sometimes, for instance when he writes about the relationship between the young Shaka and his mother Nandi, the tone becomes cluttered with melodrama. But there is no doubt that the age was one of great drama, and so Taylor is excused the verbose frillings. In conclusion, then, this is a fine historical book, worthy of any library and a tempting setwork for future South African history scholars.