Seeing the Elephant: The Battle Diaries of Colonel Lewis 'Lew' Gerber JCD and Bar, OStJ, 3 Para Bn, SADF

Seeing the Elephant: The Battle Diaries of Colonel Lewis 'Lew' Gerber JCD and Bar, OStJ, 3 Para Bn, SADF

Seeing the Elephant is the personal battle diary of Colonel Lewis 'Lew' Gerber, one of the most decorated paratroopers of the South African Border War. As 2IC and later commanding officer of the legendary 3 Parachute Battalion, Gerber was at the centre of some of the conflict's most pivotal operations, including the controversial and audacious airborne assault on Cassinga on 4 May 1978.

Written with honesty and military precision, this is not a sanitised account. It is an unfiltered personal record, illustrated and graphically designed to include previously unseen clandestine photographs, classified documents, and official records that reinforce and support the narrative at every turn.

Spanning 12 chapters from the 1960s through to the 2000s, the book traces Gerber's journey from basic training at 1 SSB and 1 Parachute Battalion, through operational deployments to Ondangwa, Owamboland, and the Triangle of Death, to command of 3 Para Bn and service with 44 Parachute Brigade, and finally to the end of his volunteer career in the SANDF Reserve Force.

Specifications

280 pages | Full-colour litho print | Over 200 photographs | Over 100 objects | Over 50 documents | Hardcover, flexibound and sewn | 155 x 225 x 25 mm

RRP R575 Special Price: R395