Three Years' War

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Highly informative - Rated
During the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, Christiaan Rudolph De Wet (1854-1922) quickly rose in rank to become Commander-in-Chief of the army of the Orange Free State. In 1902, immediately after the cessation of hostilities, De Wet wrote this book, which chronicles his activities during the war. As this was book was written so quickly, many of the detail were still quite fresh in the author's mind.

I found this book to be quite fascinating, in that it is one of the few to show the war from the Boer side. Through De Wet's writing, I got to watch the war turn, as the British got more effective and the Boers less so, due to a drop in morale and a drying up of sources of supply.

The downside of this book is that it was written solely as a recollection of what the author did. What the author does not bother himself with is a discussion of either tactics (most battles are described as simply riding up and opening fire) or of any grand strategy. As such, I would highly recommend that anyone who wishes to read this book first read a concise history of the war, so that the background of what is being discussed will be clear. But, that said, this is a fascinating and highly informative book.