xii, 123 pp. Illustrated throughout with b/w photographs and a map.
Soft cover. The front cover is edge worn along the right edge, and the tip of the bottom right hand corner has a small crease.
Scarce First Edition First Impression.
Translated from Afrikaans by Marcelle Manley.
Back cover:
Agterryers (mostly black and coloured men) were as much part of the Boer commando system as rusks and biltong were part of their diet. For more than 150 years they shared the vicissitudes of whites in many battles. Frequently they were drawn into “white” conflicts and showed that the “white man’s war” was no more than a myth.
Ghostriders – the first book to deal purely with the agterryers – focuses mainly on the role played by agterryers during the Anglo-Boer War, when 10 000 to 12 000 of them accompanied burgers to the war front. Originally they served as ordinary labourers, performing menial tasks such as grooming the horses and cooking. However, they were often drawn into a more participatory role by the intensity of the war. They dug trenches, smuggled letters, spied on the enemy and even joined the firing lines.
But in Ghostriders, the agterryers are scrutinised from various angles besides the military one: their relations with the burgers, their humour, and their outlook on the war. A selection of photographs (some appear here for the first time) lend credibility to the notion that their place in history has been vacant for too long and that the time has come for them to occupy their rightful place in South African history.
- Binding Condition: Good
- Overall Condition: Good
- Size: 240 x 180 mm
