A rollicking biography of Dr Leander Starr Jameson hero, rogue and rascal of Empire and the man who inspired Kipling to write his masterpiece, If The famous poem by Rudyard Kipling is based on the life of Jameson, and the suffering he endured as a result of the doomed raid that he and his Rhodesian and Bechuanaland policemen carried out against Paul Kruger 's Transvaal Republic in 1896. In this engaging biography in the style of Wilbur Smith-meets-Louis l Amour Ash recounts the life of this colonial statesman known as Dr Jim or simply The Doctor . He was an enigmatic man; when he died The Times estimated that his astonishing personal sway over his followers was equalled only by that of Parnell, the Irish patriot. During the fervour of the South African diamond rush Jameson established a small medical practice in Kimberley in 1878; it was here that he met and forged a lifelong friendship with Cecil John Rhodes. Jameson 's thirst for adventure, coupled with Rhodes 's dream of expanding the British Empire from the Cape to Cairo, led under Royal Charter to the British South Africa Company to the occupation of Mashonaland in 1890, with Jameson having laid the groundwork in his political dealings with Lobengula, king of the Matabele. And so began Jameson 's rollercoaster adventure: from Administrator of Mashonaland, to the invasion of Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique), the Matabele War and the infamous Jameson Raid and his subsequent trial and incarceration in London.Despite the raid, Jameson had a successful political life. He died on 26 November 1917 in London. His body was laid in a vault at Kensal Green cemetery where it remained until the end of the First World War. Ian Colvin wrote in 1923 that Jameson 's body was then ... carried to Rhodesia and on 22 May 1920, laid in a grave cut in the granite on the top of the mountain which Rhodes had called The View of the World in the Matopos Hills near Bulawayo], close beside the grave of his friend.

Sandwiched between the glamour and heroism of the Zulu War, and the controversy and bitterness of the Boer War, the Matabele Wars of the 1890s have long been southern Africa's forgotten colonial wars. There is no denying that the Matabele Wars are a lot less romantic and photogenic than the Zulu War. The wonky, unreliable Gatlings and ludicrous rocket batteries of the Zulu War had given way to the highly effective Maxim guns that were seeing major action for the first time. Nevertheless, the Matabele warriors showed every bit as much heroism, determination and elan as had their kinsmen in the Zulu War. With oft-claimed links to the infamous Jameson Raid, the origins of the second Matabele War are as fascinating and controversial as those of the first, and it was a dirty, hard-fought guerrilla war, more akin to the African bush wars of the 1960s and '70s than those waged at the height of the colonial period. The brutal murders of women and children committed by the insurgents and the widespread use of dynamite to entomb rebels in their subterranean hiding places both sparked fury and condemnation at the time, but aside from the butchery, actions such as the Mazoe Patrol were as heroic as anything of the age. This is the first history which covers both wars in a single volume, allowing the reader to see how they flowed seamlessly into one another and how they impacted on the southern Africa. Written in Ash's typical no-holds-barred style, the book thunders along rather than tiptoeing round modern political niceties. Special attention is given to the many outlandish characters of the period: old-school savage tyrant Chief Lobengula, the ambitious and ever-scheming Cecil Rhodes, and the rascally Dr Jameson, of course...but also men like Captain Lendy, one of very few men in history to have died from putting a shot, Frederick Selous, the archetypal great white hunter, Kagubi the infamous witchdoctor who whipped up so much trouble during the rebellion, not to mention the likes of Plumer, Forbes, Wilson, Colenbrander, Burnham, Baden-Powell, Gifford and the extraordinary `Maori' Hamilton-Browne. Indeed, the cast is probably the most fascinating part of the tale: adventurous young Anglo-Saxons from every corner of the empire and a few old Indian fighters from the American West, who all found themselves thousands of miles from home facing a valiant and terrifying enemy.

The famous poem, If by Rudyard Kipling, is said to be based on the life of Jameson, and the suffering he endured as a result of the 1896 raid that he and his Rhodesian and Bechuanaland policemen carried out on Paul Kruger's Transvaal Republic. In this engaging biography in the style of Wilbur Smith-meets-Louis l'Amour, Ash recounts the life of this colonial statesman known as `Dr Jim' or simply `The Doctor'. He was an enigmatic man. When he died The Times estimated that his astonishing personal sway over his followers was equalled only by that of Parnell, the Irish patriot. Although probably most known for his role in`The Jameson Raid', Jameson still had a successful political life. He died on 26 November 1917 in London. His body was laid in a vault at Kensal Green Cemetery where it remained until the end of the First World War. Ian Colvin (1923) writes that Jameson's body was then"... carried to Rhodesia and on 22 May 1920, laid in a grave cut in the granite on the top of the mountain which Rhodes had called `The View of the World', close beside the grave of his friend." About the Author A British Colonial and ex-Gordon Highlander, Chris Ash has spent much of his life in Africa, usually drilling for oil in the least pleasant places. Blessed with a love of adventure, Chris drove his Land Rover from London to Cape Town and decided to stay when he was 24. His passion for Victorian history was sparked by watching Zulu and Breaker Morrant as a child, and stoked by a drunken argument with an irate Afrikaner in Pietersburg.

In October 1899, tens of thousands of Boer horsemen poured over their borders, sparking the Boer War by invading the British territories of Natal, Cape Colony, Bechuanaland and Rhodesia. The long hoped for, and openly stated, aim was to drive the British from Southern Africa. Overwhelming the outnumbered and unprepared colonial garrisons, the invaders pushed forwards, annexing the land they grabbed, looting villages and farms, renaming towns and introducing their racist laws. Over a century of propaganda - first by Afrikaner nationalists, then by the Apartheid regime and now even by the ANC government - has reinvented these invasions, styling Kruger's republic as the innocent victim of British aggression, desperate only to preserve their independence. Released in 2014, `Kruger Kommandos & Kak' exploded onto the scene to shatter these and many other long-cherished myths of the Boer War. This updated and greatly expanded edition builds on this, and will prompt the intelligent and open-minded reader to re-evaluate everything he thought he knew about the conflict. Uncomfortable reading for some, `Kruger's War' tells the truth of the Boer War - the side which the Apartheid regime's propaganda machine did not want you to hear.

This comprehensive military atlas covers every aspect of the Boer War in some 230 full-colour maps, diagrams and detailed ORBATs. Maps covering the conflict on a strategic, operational and tactical level guide the reader through each stage of the war, from Kruger's invasions of Natal and Griqualand West, through the famous battles of the conventional period, to the vast 'drives' of the Guerrilla War phase which broke the back of the Bittereinders and brought the war to an end. By showing where every operation and battle fitted into the bigger picture, the reader is able to understand how and why any given action was fought, and how the war was ultimately won by Lord Kitchener's men. Utilising standard NATO symbols to represent the various units involved, all the maps in this unique resource were drawn specially for the Atlas, and combine contemporary military maps with modern 1:50000 survey maps to ensure unprecedented levels of accuracy and detail. A detailed time line helps explain how the war unfolded, and the maps are organised into sections which cover the various fronts. The Atlas is also lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs and drawings, as well as modern-day photographs to show how the battlefields look today, and to illustrate some of the many monuments erected to commemorate the men who fought and died. Though some of the battles covered are well known, this work also provides detail on many others which - though major actions - are almost forgotten today. The operations and smaller battles of the long and bitter Guerrilla War are also exhaustively covered. Other maps depict the details of the vast lines of blockhouses which were constructed across hundreds of miles of South Africa, and the critical role these played in the latter stages of the conflict. Whether you are new to the war, or a well-read enthusiast, The Boer War Atlas is an indispensable guide to understanding how this highly mis-understood war was fought.