‘Historian’ denies reality in anti-British tirade…
There was more proof in today’s Telegraph that some in academia are much more interested in pushing their violently anti-British agenda, than in the study of historical reality...
Hapless Hennie hopelessly humiliates himself
I have never quite understood why Amazon lets people review products they have not bought, and it is rather telling that the few ‘one star’ ratings my books get are all from people who are not ‘verified purchasers’. It would be rather like me...
Blinkered academics: not just a South African thing
There was an interesting letter in the Telegraph recently, which highlighted just how blinkered and stubborn certain academics are, and how determined they are to resist anything that challenges how they prefer to view historical events: It is...
A new word: ‘Ashism’
Apparently a new word has entered the lexicon of the True Believers: ‘Ashism’. I am told that certain fanatical Defenders of the Myth have taken to using it on social media and, obviously, I am flattered to have so impacted their lives, that they...
Peter Dickens unpacks Pakenham
Like most of us, the first book I read on the Boer War was Thomas Pakenham’s ‘The Boer War’. And like most of us, I initially bought the bullshit version that Pakenham was selling. Thirty years, and a few hundred other books...
‘Understanding’ an invasion…
It was reassuring to read that, almost two years after Russia invaded the Ukraine, Cyril Ramaphosa has finally gained a ‘better understanding’ of Moscow’s blatant aggression and expansionism: Though it is tempting to mock him for this belated...
George Orwell on willful ignorance
George Orwell observed once that, ‘one of the marks of anti-Semitism is an ability to believe stories that could not possibly be true’. While by no means as serious or unpleasant as antisemitism, I would nevertheless venture that a similar...
Never meet your heroes
Those deluded fools on the lunatic fringe of extreme Right-wing Afrikanerdom are well beyond any rational debate, but when it comes to the Boer War, it always intrigues me how others who are (allegedly) educated / intelligent / liberal /...
Ladysmith and Sarajevo
On this day, back in 1899, republican forces invaded British territory, starting the Boer War. Outnumbering the scattered Imperial garrisons, the invading Commandos advanced deep into Natal and the Cape Colony, enjoying a looting spree and soon...
Baron Roberts of Belgravia
Baron Roberts of Belgravia / Andrew Roberts FRSL FRHistS is one of the leading historians of the modern age, and also serves as a Member of the House of Lords. He earned a First in modern history from Cambridge, then added a PhD and has since...
“Only fighting for independence…”
Propagandists universally justify the use of military violence by portraying it as morally defensible and necessary. To do otherwise would jeopardize public morale and faith in the government and its armed forces… propagandists disguised military...
‘The highest form of Generalship…’
A totalitarian state is in effect a theocracy, and its ruling caste, in order to keep its position, has to be thought of as infallible. But since, in practice, no one is infallible, it is frequently necessary to rearrange past events in order to...