It was with great pleasure that I recently opened my monthly mailing from the Military Book Club and saw that the alternate choices of the month were two books written by Donald Featherstone. Within minutes my selections were in the mail and two weeks later I received Don's two volumes on Victorian Colonial Warfare - one concerning India and one Africa. The volumes are superbly written. They consist of selections chosen from the actual 19th century press concerning the campaigns in question. This in my mind is how the material should be presented. As Mr. Featherstone points out in his introduction the enjoyment of colonial campaigns rests upon seeing things as they were then. He correctly points out that a 'rebel' to a British soldier may represent a freedom fighter to a native. Also, he correctly points out that although the Europeans were usually merciless in their campaigns their native opponents were not known to take prisoners. I immediately turned to the Zulu Campaign and I must say I understood the battles even more than after reading Ian Knight's superb Osprey Campaign book. They were mesmerizing, brilliant and highly enjoyable. Even better, Don promises a future book solely devoted to the Sudan and Egyptian Campaigns. The volumes are underpriced at about $20 each. I urge all readers to add these to their libraries. Lest you think that this review is biased - you are right! I consider Mr. Featherstone an exemplary writer and human being as expressed in his writings. Ever since I read his article about what was thought to be an obnoxious know it all gamer who lied to prevent an elderly veteran from knowing that the sword his grandson bought him for his birthday was not authentic - just a reproduction - but the most he could afford - in order not to hurt a child's pride in his grandfather I knew that Mr. Featherstone realized what is important in life. I think we should all be proud that Don writes for us, and would like to thank him for these books. Back to MWAN #63 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1993 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com