Short description
Kommando is the Afrikaans version of Deneys Reitz’s journal of his amazing experience of the Anglo-Boer War, first published in English by Faber & Faber in 1929, and an evergreen bestseller in various editions ever since. It is widely regarded as the definitive, classic account of the Anglo-Boer War and has sold more copies than all other books on the Anglo-Boer War put together.
Long description
The Afrikaans version of Kommando, prepared by Deneys Reitz and Susanne du Plessis, is written in the language used by the burgers on commando. The nuances of the slightly dated Afrikaans lend both enchantment and authenticity to the unbelievably daring exploits and hair-breadth escapes the author was incredibly fortunate to survive. In truth his deceptively simple and matter-of-fact account of the war masks a sophisticated detachment and objectivity that, along with his skill as a writer, is perhaps the crowning achievement of this ‘lamentable tale of things done long ago – and ill-done’.
Thomas Pakenham, author of the bestselling The Boer War, says:
‘Reitz had the uncanny knack of living through the war as though leafing through the pages of an adventure story.’
And Jan Smuts says in his foreword to Kommando:
‘This book is a romance of truth; but behind it is a greater personal romance, and behind that again is the even more wonderful romance of South Africa, to whom much should be forgiven for the splendour of her record during a period as difficult as any young nation has ever passed through.’
This edition of Kommando contains photographs made available by the Reitz family, Jan Smuts’s memorable foreword and a new introduction by Michael Reitz (grandson of Deneys), who makes some interesting comparisons between Kommando and the original journal written in Dutch in Madagascar in 1902. In the process we are given fresh insights into a fascinating period of South African history.
It is anticipated that publication of the Afrikaans Kommando will spark renewed interest in Deneys Reitz, an extraordinary South African who ended his career as High Commissioner in London, and whom in 1983 Thomas Pakenham called ‘probably the best loved South African to hold that post’.