This strikes me as an absolutely brilliant book. It is wonderfully readable, profoundly fascinating, and admirably scholarly. It should appeal not only to the great and rising generation of historians of southern Africa, but also to historians with much wider interests. Namibia has a peculiarly distinctive appeal for being both part of the tradition of South African history, and also distinctive from that tradition ... To a reader who is not an expert on Namibia the book is elegantly illuminating.

- David Birmingham, Professor of Modern History, University of Kent at Canterbury,

... an exceptional contribution to Herero historicity... demonstrates a qualitative approach to the sensibilities and aspirations of the Herero leadership in this most poignant epoch of their history.

- Lawrence Flint, AFRICAN AFFAIRS

What a splendid monograph Gewald has given us!

- Kenneth Wilburn, AFRICAN STUDIES REVIEW