In his preface to Deneys Reitz’s book, “Commando - A Boer Journal of the Boer War”, Jan Smuts said the following: “It is a true story, and the facts are often understated rather than exaggerated. The exciting incidents, the hairbreadth escapes, the daredevilry are literally true … an unforgettable picture of mobile guerrilla warfare.”
Having recently read this & the other two books in the trilogy I can concur with Smuts, the stories are extraordinary & you have to remind yourself that this happened!
Thomas Pakenham stated: “Reitz had the uncanny knack of living through the war as though leafing through the pages of an adventure story.”
The above can be said of the whole of the incredibly adventurous life of Deneys Reitz, who was Deputy Prime Minister of South Africa during the Second World War.
The speaker, Trevor Emslie SC, is an advocate at the Cape Bar, where he has specialised in tax law for over 30 years, and he has published Deneys Reitz’s three books, “Commando”, “Trekking On” and “No Outspan”.
He regards Deneys Reitz as a truly great South African who embodied the rare combination of daredevil adventurer and brilliant, sensitive writer, almost without equal.