Saul David'sZulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879is a fascinating look at the most controversial and brutal British imperial conflict of the nineteenth century.

The real story of the Anglo-Zulu war was one of deception, dishonour, incompetence and dereliction of duty by Lord Chelmsford who invaded Zululand without the knowledge of the British Government. But it did not go to plan and there were many political repercussions. Using new material from archives in Britain and South Africa, Saul David blows the lid on this most sordid of imperial wars and comes to a number of startling new conclusions.

'Saul David's brilliant and magisterial account must now be regarded as the definitive history of the Zulu War'Frank McLynn, Literary Review

'This meticulously detailed book...give[s] a fully rounded and judicious account of this dismal conflictGuardian

'Fascinating, thrilling, convincing... reads like a novel'Economist

Saul David is Professor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham and the author of several critically acclaimed history books, includingThe Indian Mutiny: 1857(shortlisted for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature),Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879(a Waterstone's Military History Book of the Year) and, most recently,Victoria's Wars: The Rise of Empire.