by John Selby. Arthur Barker Limited. 42s. 8 3/4 x 5 1/2". 237 pages. 27 illustrations; 15 maps. Inevitably this book covers some of the ground in the two books by Ransford reviewed last month (Majuba and Spion Kop) but it has much more than that to offer. Subtitled "A Study in Cowardice and Courage" it vividly describes both the nobility and fraility that goes to make up a man whether he be a Briton or a Boer. The eminent hist rian J.F.C. Fuller has christened this conflict The Last 0f the Gentlemen's Wars," it may well have been because there are certainly many instances of restraint and respect for surrender sadly lacking in World Wars I and II. In telling of the mobile and highly adaptable Boer tactics, the book also brings out the inherent stubborness and refusal to admit defeat of the British soldier of both that time and every other period. It is not unreasonable to say that the British soldier of 1899 to 1901 was the product of the Victorian age when the stimulus of the many small Colonial Wars brought much of the colour and grandeur to the 19th century. Not only is this book well and clearly written but it is an excellent text book for the wargamer interested in an unusual Colonial Campaign in which one side is highly mobile and playing "aces wild" against a more numerous but rigidly restricted conventional army. Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter # 95 To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1970 by Donald Featherstone. 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