Smuts the Patriot - Piet Meiring
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Description
'Smuts the Patriot' by Piet Meiring is an illustrated biography of Jan Christiaan Smuts (1870–1950), the Boer general, British field marshal, South African prime minister and international statesman. Drawing on personal recollections, accounts from people who knew Smuts and a wide range of published sources, Meiring traces his life from his childhood and late start at school through his studies at Stellenbosch and Cambridge, his role in the Anglo-Boer War, and his subsequent political and military career. The book’s central concern is Smuts’s identity as an Afrikaner and his understanding of patriotism, examining the apparent tension between his Afrikaner roots, his relationship with Britain and his prominent role in international affairs. Meiring also explores Smuts’s personal character, including his reserve, intellectual confidence, pride, determination, warmth and love of nature and children. Rather than offering a detached political history, the biography seeks to bring its subject closer to the reader while presenting an interpretation of his complex and often controversial legacy. First published in English by Tafelberg in Cape Town in 1975, the book includes photographs and an index.
Condition
Good condition, as pictured
Filed under: (Auto-)biographies