History is written by the victors, they say, and Hilaire Belloc reminded us that, "Whatever happens we have got the Maxim gun, and they have not", so it is rare to find a history of a colonial war written by a descendant of the losing side.

This is a superb history of the Battle of Karari, as the Sudanese call the battle fought in the shadow of the hills of the same name which is more universally known as the Battle of Omdurman. Touted at the time and since as a great British victory, it might be more accurately described as a massacre, as state of the art modern weaponry was deployed against horsemen with spears. This book tells the story from a different viewpoint. ( )