This week on Pagecast, the podcast from Jonathan Ball Publishers, Karen Horn is in conversation with Antonio Garcia and Ian van der Waag about their book, Botha, Smuts and the First World War​.

Pagecast offers you insider interviews with recently published authors, looking into the process of writing, exploring the narratives within and providing you with the story behind the story.

Facing internal rebellion and the threat posed by German troops on South Africa’s borders, Prime Minister Louis Botha and his deputy, Jan Smuts, led the Union Defence Force during the First World War. This first-of-a-kind volume investigates the wartime roles of these two legendary yet divisive historical figures.

Behind Botha’s charming façade and Smuts’s stoic machine, were two very human, imperfect men. Together they provide a wonderful lens through which to examine the potent forces of the early 20th-century world and the country they hoped to forge.

• Listen to Pagecast here

Listen to the latest episode here:

Categories Non-fiction South Africa

Tags Antonio Garcia Botha Smuts and the First World War Ian van der Waag Jonathan Ball Publishers Karen Horn Pagecast Podcast