New book commemorates South Africa's sacrifice in World War 1

It tells the story of South Africa's Great War, from Mushroom Valley to Delville Wood in a meticulous and detailed account of the South African Forces in five major theatres of action and dedicates a special chapter to black South African troops' contribution to the Allies' ultimate victory.

Historical photos

The Great Silence incorporates reports from the Sunday Times; a newspaper well established before the war struck in 1914 and is fully illustrated with over 150 photographs, maps and graphics. The book also includes eight special insets on extraordinary characters of the war, such as Jackie the baboon - who saw action in Egypt and on the Western Front.

Ben Williams, Head of Books & eCommerce at Times Media says, "This is the Sunday Times' second major print publication and follows the company's strategy of publishing books in categories that speak to our 100-year-old archive. We are sure that our readers will be moved by the way Couzens retells the harrowing scenes that unfolded in Africa and Europe as the war marched on, and South Africa with it."

The book is available for download as an e-book on Kobobooks.com and Amazon.com, and as a paperback from all good bookstores at R249. Couzens, a literary and social historian, is the author of several titles, including South African Battles, Tramp Royal (which won the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award), The New African and Murder at Morija.

For more information, go to www.bookslive.co.za.