moorosibook

Mervyn: I apologize for the delay in responding. Thank you for your interest in my book, MOOROSI. Although I live in Seattle now, I was born and raised in South Africa and spent many years covering politics for South African newspapers and magazines. I visited Lesotho several times in my early 20s and was captivated by the country, hence my interest in its history. If you would like a signed copy of my book, please let me know by email at grahamf@moorosi.com and I will send you a copy. Graham

Members might be interested in a new book, called MOOROSI: A South African king's battle for survival that I have written and which has just been published. It tells the detailed story of a little-known, but intriguing, war that took place in southern Lesotho (then Basutoland) in 1879 between the Cape Colony and the BaPhuthi people, led by King Moorosi. The war was followed by the Basotho War, or the Gun War, which began a year later. MOOROSI also includes descriptions of other wars that took place on the Eastern Cape border of the Cape Colony in 1877 and 1878. The book describes how the Moorosi war arose from conflict between the Cape Colony and the BaPhuthi people, leading to the siege of Mount Moorosi, a flat-topped mountain fortress surrounded by steep cliffs on three sides. The accessible fourth side was fortified with stone walls and guarded by the heavily-armed BaPhuthi people, who built a village on the mountaintop. The assault on Mount Moorosi presented a challenge in military strategy to the colonial forces who found it more formidable than they had ever thought it would be. Three colonial soldiers won the Victoria Cross for their actions during the war; how they won them is told in detail in the book. Although the book is categorized as historical fiction, almost all the story is true and represents the results of seven years of research during which I consulted rare books and government documents from the time of the war, spent many hours in archives in South Africa and Lesotho, and visited the historical sites around which the action takes place. I was born and raised in South Africa. My interest in cultural conflict, colonial Africa and the Moorosi battle in particular began when I traveled through Lesotho on horseback in my early 20s and when I subsequently worked as a journalist at several South African newspapers and news magazines, covering cultural conflict in Southern Africa during the apartheid years. While studying as a journalism student at Columbia University in the mid-60s, I not only wrote a thesis on cultural conflict but also attended lectures and wrote papers relating to the Vietnam War, which directly affected many of my fellow students. After moving to the United States in 1980, I studied conflict around the world, including the two wars in which the United States has recently been involved, while working as a journalist in the Seattle area. I believe MOOROSI is an excellent case study in war, mirroring many of the issues that we see in today's conflicts around the world. The book is accompanied by pictures illustrating the events before and during the war. Please see: http://www.moorosi.com MOOROSI is listed on the amazon website at: http://www.amazon.co...351655372&sr=8- where it is available in print and Kindle editions.

Those interested in knowing more about the war in which Peter Brown received his Victoria Cross might like to read a new historical novel called "Moorosi: A South African king's battle for survival" which I have just published after seven years research. I could not find out any more about Brown's background than is contained in this string, but I was able to obtain extensive information on his role in the battle and how he -- and Robert Scott also referred to in this string -- earned the Victoria Cross. The book contains the complete story of the war, which took place about the same time as the Zulu War and was completely overshadowed by it. Besides being a riveting tale, it is a fascinating case study in war and of interest to those who enjoy studying military strategy. The book is available on amazon.co.uk (and amazon.com) in print and Kindle versions.