"When Rustling Became an Art" tells the story of a father, son and grandson who led the Kgatla people to political and military prominence in the western Transvaal and eastern Bechuanaland during the 19th century. This is a story of shrewd risk-takers perpetrating calculated violence, fit for the times. For Boers and Africans alike, good enterprises were measured in cattle, and the Kgatla under Pilane and his two successors, Kgamanyane and Linchwe, were uncommonly good at acquiring cattle.
This is also the first detailed narrative of early-to-late western Transvaal history involving resident Boer and African communities, along with missionary activity, the relations between the South African Republic and its western border, and the complex movement of African groups into and out of the western Transvaal between 1860 and 1900. It provides a revisionist perspective of Paul Kruger, detailing his land speculation, slave raiding, collaborative dealings with Africans, and his political and religious struggles within the Boer community of Rustenburg District.