The Randlords: The Men Who Made South Africa

by Geoffrey. Wheatcroft

The The Men Who Made South Africa

Genres: History, Nonfiction, South Africa, Africa

1 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1987

Reviews

[Jean-Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why did I read this? Well, the short answer is television. When I was younger I remember a television adaptation of PG du Plessis's Fees van die ongenooides (Feast of the Uninvited), and another, made much earlier, starring Martin Shaw as Cecil Rhodes. Mix those two together and what emerges is this gem of a book.

Tracing the history of the South African mining industry (diamonds and gold), and the major players involved, it touches briefly on the Second Boer War and the beginnings of Johannesburg, including the suburb of Parktown. And let's not forget the bit about Anthony Trollope, which makes me want to read some of his books.

[Ashley Ritchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good overview and interesting insights. Infuriating style of writing- at times clumsy and obscure. Worth the read all the same.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of how mining drove the development (from a European perspective) of Southern Africa.

Having been written while apartheid was still going, the saying that "history is written by the victors" doesn't sanitize the narratives of the storyline into present day political correctness. I enjoyed it.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book if you want to understand how Johannesburg came to be and how British, Afrikaner Boers and local black people contributed to the Gold centre of the world from late 1800

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much detail for me . If you are interested in the mining history of South Africa then this is the book for you. I was only interested in the general history of the county. Very well organized and well written.