The Washing of the Spears Book by Donald R. Morris

Filled with colorful characters, dramatic battles like Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift, and an inexorable narrative momentum, this unsurpassed history details the sixty-year existence of the world's mightiest African empire; from its brutal formation and zenith under the military genius Shaka , through its inevitable collision with white expansionism, to its dissolution under Cetshwayo in the Zul War of 1879.

you ever saw the 1964 film "Zlu" (with a very young Michael Caine) you'll remember the siege of Rorke's Drift--- a great set-piece of cinema. And a grand depiction of a battle. I saw the film long ago, and then sought out books on the Zuu Wars. "The Washing of the Spears", forty-odd years since it first appeared, is very much a classic. It's old-school writing: blood-and-thunder, individual bravery, grand scenes. And surprisingly sensitive and sympathetic to the Zuu, while still understanding the bloody nature of leadership and politics inside the tribal kingdoms of South Africa. Powerful, well-written, thrilling, well-researched. See the film, read "Washing of the Spears"--- do both.