Includes bibliographical references (page 187) and index.

Shaka of the Zulu -- The heavens that thundered -- Zululand -- Birth and Childhood -- The young warrior -- Rise of the Zulu -- Struggle with the Ndwandwe -- The Crushing -- Shaka's kingdom -- Coming of the Whites -- Last of the Ndwandwe -- The Death of Nandi -- Diplomatic defeat -- Assassination -- Shaka's army -- Bibliography -- Chronology -- Moshoeshoe of the BaSotho -- By grace of the people -- The Sotho World -- The young warrior -- Red dust from the East -- The mountain is my mother -- Survival of the nation -- The missionaries -- Battle for the land -- First blood -- A dog when beaten -- A good and fertile country -- The dogs of war -- War of the cannon's boom -- Pease -- Moshoeshoe's legacy -- The BaSotho army -- Bibliography -- Chronology -- Mzilikazi of the Matabele -- The great road -- Son of Mashobane -- Defying Shaka -- Strangers from the East -- The Ndebele -- The Grique -- Meeting the White men -- Dingane Strikes -- The Marico Valley -- The Voortrekkers -- Catastrophe -- Retribution -- Exodus -- Hill of the Indunas -- Matabeleland -- The mountain falls -- Fly and the chameleon -- The Ndebele army -- Bibliography -- Chronology -- Maqoma of the Xhosa -- Proud and tragic -- The angry men -- The Dutch -- Sons of Phalo -- The fall of Ngqika -- Bushmen of the sea -- Maqoma's war -- Imperial retreat -- War of the Riverman -- Waiting for the Dead Chiefs -- The Xhosa military system -- Bibliography -- Chronology -- Index

By looking at the lives and military campaigns of four great warriors, this book paints a picture of Southern Africa before the Europeans arrived. It features: Shaka of the Zulu, Africa's legendary hero, and the instigator of Zulu greatness and nationhood; Maqomo of the Xhosa - a master of guerilla warfare and the most daring and talented military leader of his age; Mzilikazi of the Matabele - he fought the Zulus, the Sotho and the Boers, and finally settled in Zimbabwe; Moeshoeshoe of the BaSotho - in the 1830s, the most powerful leader west of the Drakensberg Mountains.