Beginning with the reign of Shaka, the book follows his successors - Dingane, Mpande and Cetshwayo - tracking their drive to power through assassination and civil war, and charting their resistance to colonialism. Although defeated in war, Cetshwayo and his heir, Dinuzulu, struggled to retain something of their kingly authority during the brutal transition to full colonial control. Laband describes how, in the oppressive century of colonial and apartheid rule, their successors - Solomon and Cyprian - strove to have their abolished royal status restored, and how Goodwill Zwelithini finally achieved this goal when the post-apartheid government recognised his royal rank once more.
The Eight Zulu Kings also places the Zulu kings in the context of other African monarchs and discusses their shared royal traditions and their common challenges. By bringing the personalities of the Zulu kings into focus, the book assesses how effectively, within the possibilities of his own era, each ruler dealt with the opportunities and threats of his reign.