Path of Blood. The Rise and Conquests of Mzilikazi, Founder of the Matabele.

Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1979.. The great African conqueror Mzilikazi, the Great Road, founded the Matabele dynasty and a legend....But unlike many tribal conquerors who lived by the sword, Mzilikazi was revered by his people and was on terms of close friendship with missionaries, explorers and tradrs. It is a remarkable tribute to the man that none of his subjects ever tried to assassinate him." Pp.323, 26 black & white plates, pages toned, owner's details in pencil and small pen notation to half-title page, pencil markings to margins throughout plus pencil notations to rear endpaper and inside rear cover. Plus: signed handwritten letter from Peter Becker to the book owner (Mrs Joan Benson, c/o National Forum, Krugersdorp) loosely enclosed. Paperback, minor creasing to front and rubbing to spine. Good.** Given the reference to 'National Forum', Joan Benson is probably the wife of Ivor Benson, a journalist, right-wing essayist, anti-communist and racist conspiracy theorist. From 1964 to 1966 he was a Rhodesian government official and censor. He fanatically supported apartheid in South Africa. Benson would author many books and essays alleging a Jewish world conspiracy. He wrote articles for magazines abroad, such as Western Destiny, The Journal of Historical Review, and The Spotlight. In 1966, he became co-editor of the American magazine The American Mercury as it merged with two Nazi papers to adopt an explicitly pro-Nazi/anti-semitic/white supremacy stance. He produced a newsletter, Behind the News, and in the 1970s founded a fascist group called the National Forum, and would head the South African chapter of the World Anti-Communist League.(wiki).