A Rhapsody in Blue

Hardback with original pale blue boards with blue lettering to upper spine and spine. Dustcover unclipped.

A Rhapsody in Blue is a story of policemen. It is told by an ex- policeman who is unusual in this sense, that he had already written a book on Cape Antique Furniture that was universally praised by critics for its originality and scholarship.

Lennox van Onselen tells the story of the South African Police in a style which is readable and entertaining. This is no mundane history but a book that traces the development of police forces from the earliest moments of our tempestuous history. It takes the reader into another world; a world peopled by policemen and the lives they live, the risks they take and the amazing episodes which befall them in the execution of their duty.

The book is unusual in many ways. The author switches to the first person in recounting his war experiences and rightly so, as the kaleidoscopic events of war are seen differently through the eyes of individuals. The story of how he lost £20,000 is unique in its philosophy.

He met General Smuts on several occasions, in fact he was deputed to guard him on some of his lonely wanderings round Table Mountain and his comments on Smuts are, to say the least, original.

Ex Libris label to front pastedown. Half Title, Title, Dedication, Contents, Acknowledgements, List of Illustrations. x plus 165 pages. Chipped dustcover protected with loose mylar cover, slight offset to endpapers.

Contents very good.