No comments about Fodor's Morocco, 3rd Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides).

2 comments about A Hunter's Wanderings in Africa: Being a Narrative of Nine Years Spent Amongst the Game of the Far Interior of South Africa (Resnick Library of African Adventure, No. 6.).

1. If you are into reading about old time African hunters, this book is one you must have on your shelves. He was obviously a very tough man who lived a life full of adventure. If you read many other old time African hunters, you will find this book to complement others. Well worth buying.



2. If you love hunting and Africa this is the book for you. It is all hunting. There is somethings about the people. A little about his guns, but he went on to become one of the greatest African hunters ever. The great game reserve of Tanzania is named for him. I loved this book. It is direct and to the point, hunting, hunting and more hunting. Read it and enjoy. thanks

5 comments about My Heart Is Africa: A Flying Adventure.

1. This is like reading about the transatlantic flight of Charles
   Lindbergh... absolutely on the edge of your seat wondering what will
   happen.
   Wonderfully told, poignant,with an insider's look at situations
   on the African continent.



2. Last year I spent 10 days in Kenya and was totally blown away with the beauty and yet the desperate poverty of this country. Today with the unrest and political turmoil it takes me back to my trip last year. This book I just received last evening and could not put it down. If you like adventure books especially planes or motorcycle travel this book is for you. It has been a good while since I have read a non-novel that was so riveting and exciting it makes you want to read it night and after night. I will give an update when I finish it and I assume that will be in a few days.



3. The book is quite entertaining.
   
   It was easy for me to identify with the author and the stories.
   
   I am a pilot and I worked in an air ambulance service in West Africa at the same period of time.
   
   The writer is doing a good job at describing the mentality and the life of expatriates in Africa.
   
   The poetic descriptions of Africa's landscapes are a bit lenghty for my taste...but otherwise it is well written.
   
   Recommended !



4. As someone who knows his way around small planes, I wouldn't get into an aircraft with this man for a million bucks. Fortunately for the reader, incident after incident of incredibly poor aviation decision making combined with the scenery and people of Africa as a backdrop makes for highly entertaining reading.



5. If you love Africa and a good story from some-one who has lived and flown an aeroplane in Africa, this is the book for you. It's a great story.

5 comments about Green Hills of Africa (Scribner Classics).

1. Hemingway would have been better served by including more narratives than the ramblings of his characters. He seems to believe that it is important to capture what they actually said since they are real characters and not imaginary, but how realistic is that? Obviously, he couldn't write while hunting so undoubtedly he paraphrased their conversations when he was able to write - possibly days or weeks later. So if he's going to paraphrase then he should polish up the dialogue. And, perhaps exclude much of the pointless dribble. Some of which might not have been pointless if he had done a better job of developing the characters.
   
   I do not recommend this book. Instead, I would rather point a potential reader of African safari stories to the works of Peter Capstick.



2. Hemingway once said that a writer needs a built-in- B.S. detector. He forgot to take it along on this safari, though he is willing to stand corrected occasionally by his then- wife Pauline for errors of 'diarrhea of the mouth'. In any case the old Hem style is truly at work here, and it supplies us with some truly beautiful and moving passages. It also supplies us with a capsule survey of American Literature as provided by the great Hem in which he finds Emerson, Thoreau and Whittier all mind and no body, Melville all rhetoric and and an imagined mystery not really there, and only Crane, Twain and James worth keeping. His most famous riff is of course the one in which he says all American Literature derives from a book called Huckleberry Finn which he then says is great to a certain point only. Old Hem in a wonderfully snobbish way tells us that America really has no literature and that we need someone with the discipline of Flaubert and the something else of Stendhal if we are to have one. No doubt he is the one who intends to supply the product.
   With all the posturing and the big - game hunting shtantz and the bull which accompanies it( And with it too the morally objectionable chest- beating at cutting down unarmed rhinos, lions, kudu etc. Hemingway is at times here at the top of his game. He was young and strong and relatively happy and had already made it as a writer though perhaps not in the way he ultimately wanted to.
   The dialogue between him and the other hunters is to my mind over-mannered stylized pretentious crap.
   But there are passages in the book which remind you that this is one of the truly great American writers, and one of , in my judgment, the best short story writers of them all.
   I want to cite a passage just to give the feeling of how good old Hem could be when he was good.
   
   " What I had to do was work. I did not care, particularly , how it all came out. I did not take my own life seriously anymore, any one else's life , yes, but not mine. They all wanted something that I did not want and I would get it without wanting it, if I worked. To work was the only thing , it was the one thing that always made you feel good , and in the meantime it was my own damned life and I would lead it where and how I pleased. And where I led it now pleased me very much. This was a better sky than Italy. The hell, it was. The best sky was in Italy and Spain and Northern Michigan and in the fall in the Gulf off Cuba. You could beat this sky; but not the country."



3. I found this writing less interesting than Rossevelt or Rourk work purchased at the same time. Perhaps the critics opinions are not always the best way to judge a work.



4. this book is annoying. hemmingway's ego is out of control as he tries to make a big man of himself by shooting his way through an array of animals that of course mean him no harm at all. though i love much of his early work, this book makes him seem a truly horrible person. no wonder he had a long string of failed relationships and ultimatley killed himself. who could live with a jackass like this. in the end, he couldn't even stand to live with himself. this is an almost worthless book.



5. some highlights: the swahili word "m'uzuri" meaning good or well reminds hemingway of missouri. such classical hemingway wry humor. also, "simba" is another swahili word that i had the pleasure of learning in this book, which reminds ME of the disney beloved character, of course. (and jason raize, who played the adult simba on broadway who died tragically too young--look him up, people!)
   
   the few pages in chapter one where hemingway met a guy in africa who has heard of hemingway from a lit magazine were excellent. it's hemingway pointing to the sources of great american writings. mark twain's huck topped this chart. moby-dick was mentioned, of course. and henry james (the "two most beautiful words in the english language" as the great--yet not really well known--american poet jim crenner says).
   
   having stated all this, i think this is one of hemingway's weakest books i've ever read. his occasional incredibly long sentences that he does so breathtakingly, magnificently well in other books don't seem to live up to the golden standard that i've seen. the details of the hunt are bloody. bloody boring, that is, at some points.
   
   this is hemingway's second attempt at non-fiction so i'd be interested in checking out his tome of a book on bull-fighting. tho, as any lover of hemingway's writings would know, my lukewarm reaction to "green hills" doesn't even put a tiny dent on my great admiration for this remarkable american writer.
   
   p.s: i finished this book on friday the 13th, june 2008. and how many chapters are there? i love coincidences like this.

5 comments about Faces of Africa.

1. The book is a stunning display of the many facets of African tribal life and customs. The typography, while certainly aesthetic, is sometimes bordering on the unreadable by the use of coloured text on a black background.
   I was disappointed, however, that the book virtually fell apart after having had it for barely 1/2 hour. The pages simply came away from the spine! I have had it repaired at a local bookbinders for very little cost but this shouldn't happen with a book of that quality and price. Those complaints aside though, it's a pleasure to own this book!
   
   Trevor Pickles



2. What a delight for the eyes this book is! I found myself drawn deeper and deeper into each photograph. The accompanying text is beautifully crafted and I almost want to commit each entry to memory. When I visited Africa, I instantly fell in love with its people, its landscapes and the authenticity of life on this breathtaking continent. This book allows me to marvel at, and to cherish, the traditions and rituals which frame the lives of the African people.



3. This is one of my favorite illustration of Africa; jovial, moving, colorful and passionate, the best introduction to the many tribes and cultures of the African continent. The ceremonies of the Surma tribe in Ethiopia and the Samburu tribe in Kenya are beautiful and rich photographic testimony of African culture. Everyone should own this illustrative account of Africa.



4. What a beautiful book, the photographs are exquisite and colorful. The information in the book is sufficient as not to overwhelm the beauty of the photographs.
   
   Highly disappointed that upon opening this book for the first time that the pages detached from the spine. It was going to be a gift but obviously won't work for my intended purpose.



5. A visual treasure. This book is one of the most stunning and beautiful I have ever seen. The production is of the highest quality. Beckwith and Fisher have again brought the excitement and pulse of their amazing work to the page in order that readers may immmerse themselves in a world many only dream of. The photography is breathtaking. The text illuminating. Anything these women produce will have a welcome place in my library. This book will be enjoyed for many generations to come. My young grandsons love it. The photographs bring to life a world we may never experience and, sadly, one that may disappear in time. I find something new every time I pick it up to peruse. The Beckwith and Fisher eye for detail is, in a word, unparalleled.

5 comments about Madagascar Wildlife, 2nd: A Visitor's Guide.

1. I am planning a trip to Madagascar and found this book a very helpful review of the various parks in the country. The photos are excellent and the discussion of the various mammals are readable but provide enough information to be interesting. This is not a technical book on either mammals or ecosystems, but is a good review of both. Perhaps I was looking for too much from this book, but I would have liked more maps and a bit more guidance on how to combine trips to different ecosystems in one trip. I combine it with the Lonely Planet and can cobble together the information, but it requires quite a bit of work. I also liked the sections on reptiles and insects - many books neglect the little creatures, which can be far more interesting than mammals in some ecosystems. Overall highly recommended.



2. This book is certainly very pretty, with excellent photographs.
   It is also thin and light-weight, and does cover a little bit of everything: habitats, recommended sites to visit, mammals, birds, reptiles and insects.
   As such, it is an inspiring read, and probably the best single-volume book to carry for those who only have a superficial interest in Madagadcar's unique wildlife.
   
   However, for more serious naturalists the information it offers is far too limited. Even mammals, the best detailed group, are only discussed down to genus level, neither mentioning nor illustrating all or even most species. Birds receive a token coverage of 10 pages, and reptiles fare little better.
   Even the descriptions of nature reserves can be found in the more recent, excellent and complete field guides like the Mammals of Madagascar: A Complete Guide which actually tells you where to spot every single species separately, and the similarly brilliant Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands which not only covers all the birds of Madagascar, but those of neighbouring islands too, along with recommended birdwatching sites. Fans of herpetofauna should try and get hold of A Field Guide to the Amphibians & Reptiles of Madagascar.
   If you buy any of the above field guides, you will find this book a waste of money - I did.



3. What it lacks is maps where to find each animal. Layout of the book is a little bit confusing (pictures are put on pages in chaotic manner) but otherwise a good book. It does what is supposed to: inform about different animals species, not only mammals. There is nothing better on the market right now.



4. Fabulous, novice handbook! Great photographs with basic but very purposeful text. My only problem is the owner of the "hotel" in Andisibe, down the street from the main restaurant, enjoyed the book so much I felt compelled to give it to him as a gift!



5. This book is a great introduction to Madagascan Wildlife - it gives a breakdown of the main National Parks and Reserves and what you are likely to see at each. Another section provides (limited) details of the Madagascan fauna. While I would have liked some more detail, for the price and size it is a fantastic introductory guide.

5 comments about The African Adventurers: A Return to the Silent Places.

1. Capstick has an ability to write as few others have ever mastered and those that did are also revered. His stories are addictive and captivating! A must read for those who love to hunt.



2. I know Peter personaly and have hunted with him. I am in his book Sands of Silence. I highly recommend all of his books. They draw from real experiences and actively bring the reader into the wild. He loved the outdoors and his work helps preserve memories and times of people and activity that is passing away. Each book is a treasure of adventure. BL Melrose, MD



3. I could not put this book down. What a sad world we live in today when there is no dark continent to explore the way that the professional hunters and wardens described in this book had to experience around the year 1900. What a sad world and what a bunch of counterfeits the Croc Hunter and Croc Dundee are. Author Capstick puts you there a hundred years ago, where prides of lions manage to devour 450 villagers before being shot, or where 30,000 elephants are shot in one country alone just to limit crop damage! These examples give you an idea of the world the hunters profiled by Capstick in this anthology of sorts walked into circa 1900 to 1940. Lions walking into huts populated with 100 sleeping people, only to leave without molesting a soul, only leaving their footprints around the myriads of sleeping African tribesman. Big cats jumping through windows to snatch infants in bassonets, toddlers grabbed off porches, the head being found a day later in the grass, Cheetahs killing humans just for the fun of it. Guns jamming and cartridges failing in the face of wounded lions. Deadly snakes, Puff adders, Black Mambas, no antidote, one example of these snakes even dropping out of trees to bite a human victim.

   Make no mistake about it, Africa was all the danger you ever dreamed about and more at the turn of the last century. ANy game animal in North America is tame in comparison to the African beasts described so vividly by Capstick. Get this book and dream of an Africa unspoiled, full of game more cunning and ferocious than you, and dream about the original tribes, and the Englishmen that first made contact with them.

   I will work my way through all of Capstick's books. I am hooked. This book is fanstastic.




4. I've loved all the Capstick books and own and have loaned the ones I own many times, mostly to husbands of friends. But I must admit that I can only read one or two and then I have to stop for a while. Times were different then and there were lots of animals. No talk of endangered species. Today when I read about macho men slaughtering beautiful animals for sport it can get to be sickening. But, again, he is an excellent author and the books keep you on the edge of your chair. When you see the movie based on the Lions of Tsavo and have read the book - the book is soooo much more exciting. And - no love interest.



5. Excelent recount of great african hunters and adventurers, very well written and documented.

5 comments about The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (Peter Capstick Library Series).

1. I ordered this book for Christmas for my son and he is really enjoying reading the book. He loved the movie the book is based on, The Ghost and the Darkness, and now gets to read about the real-life experiences of J.H. Patterson. A great addition to his reading library!



2. The author gives the true account of the Tsavo Lions. He seems to downplay the story at times, but it makes for very interesting reading. The last 2/3 of the book are about his other hunting adventures while in Africa. Worth your time for sure.



3. "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo" (also available in this edition The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (Peter Capstick Library Series)) is a fascinating book that tells of a time on the continent of Africa that is now long past. When the author, John H. Patterson, an engineer for the British Empire at the peak of its power, arrived in the southeastern African region of Tsavo, wild game, including dangerous, predatory man-eaters abounded with such profusion that a man armed with a rifle could sling up and shoot from virtually anywhere, for animals of all kinds densely populated the land. As an engineer in charge of planning and building the railroad and the necessary bridges, Patterson also had the responsibility of managing the workers, primarily Indians imported into Africa from India, their country also being under British rule at that time. Patterson's workers began to become unmanageable when huge, man-eating lions in the Tsavo region began eating the workers on a regular basis, somewhat dampening the coolies' enthusiasm for the already backbreaking job at which they toiled in brutal heat amidst vicious biting insects--though the prospect of the bite of the lions understandably troubled them more. Patterson's book is an enthralling, well-rounded account of his experience there and not merely a hunting tale.
   None of this life of relatively unrestrained high adventure could take place in today's Africa, which is dominated by third world dictators who, with the evil assistance of IANSA, heavily restrict the right to bear arms in general and hunting in particular. Anyone interested in this time period should read With the Judaeans in the Palestine Campaign and Warrior: The Legend Of Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen.
   The world of that time is long gone, as are most of the individuals of that type. More's the pity on both counts.
   The edition referred to here is an inexpensive paperback reprint with poor photographs.
   Had I known about the Capstick edition (see above) prior to ordering, I would have chosen it instead.
   Nevertheless, this "low budget" edition of "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo" is well worth the read.
   But be warned: you'll want to read more stories like it when you finish . . . and you might even develop a yen to hunt large, dangerous, predatory, man-eating game in the long grass that grows in the vast silent places of what was once the "heart of darkness."



4. I read this book several years ago before purchasing it and thoroughly enjoyed the story of the lions of Tsavo. The historical account of the facts behind this story are fascinating. I purchased this book as a Christmas gift, and was very disappointed with the paper stock on which it was printed. Had I seen this book in a store I would not have purchased this edition because the paper and printing reproduction are of such poor quality. If I didn't need it for a Christmas gift, I would have returned the item.



5. A fascinating snapshot in a small hiccup in the giant that was the British Empire. "Progress" is stopped by two lions who have developed an appetite for tender meat. Patterson is an engineer and really not a hunter. Nevertheless, he struggles manfully and heroically to protect his workmen and advance the empire.
   
   He's ultimately successful but not without failures. Despite his impressive efforts, the lions devour Indian workers, native tribesmen and even Europeans. Clearly these cats aren't racist. Everything is turned into lion scat.
   
   Perhaps "Maneaters" isn't the best-written book in the world but it is documentation of a world long past and to the courage and endurance of a very brave man.
   
   Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Conquest of Mexico

5 comments about Stalking the Wild Dik-Dik: One Woman's Solo Misadventures Across Africa.

1. I was somewhat disappointed with this book. I had expected an account of adventures in Africa, but instead it seemed more of an average tourist tale, masquerading complaints about the discomforts of travel. It was a great book if you are a comfort traveler who wants to sightsee in Africa to the major tourist destinations, however the book lacks depth about any of the local cultures, and includes almost nothing on the people. Most of the book pases while the author is in a bus or a car, leaving much to be desired about what happens when she is not looking out a window.



2. I was seeking true account information about Africa and I found this book to be too negative with a focus mostly on the bad and not the beauty and good of Africa.



3. This is very disappointing, shallow, and simply about average tourist types with no insights offered. She apparently interacted only with other tourists, leaving Africans of various countries to be role players in her hotel, taxi, and trinket episodes. She colors this narrative with practically no desciptive writing of the terrain, agriculture, or cultural subtlties. It's all about herself and other visitors, mostly in game parks, offered without any character depth. She moved too fast to discover any. I am surprised she found a publisher. This book has been written a hundred times already.



4. For the sake of full disclosure, I should mention that the author, Ms. Javins, is a friend of mine. Savvy internet users could probably figure that out anyway. Still, I believe my opinion is as valid as anybody else's. It's up to you to decide how biased my review is. I find myself in full agreement with most of the other customer reviews, but bewildered by a couple who just didn't seem to get it. Maybe they bought the book without reading any of the descriptions.
   
   Though this book focuses on Africa, much of "Dik Dik" was originally written as a weblog, while Marie spent a year traveling around the world alone. This is not a grandiose tale about the beauty of Africa, or an in-depth guide chock-full of handy tips for travelers. Instead, this is a street-level journey about traveling, with all the bumps, bruises, mistakes and surprises that go with the territory. This is a personal story and Marie's observations come from her unique, irreverent point of view.
   
   Especially when put in the larger context of a year long, around the world tour, by herself, without the creature-comforts of air travel, I don't see how one reviewer could call this an "average tourist tale." How many women do you know that have done such a trip? I know only the one. Readers who were put off by the negative aspects of the trip, or Marie's complaints miss her point. This is what it's like, folks. And she wouldn't have it any other way.



5. Finished Marie Javins' Stalking the Wild Dik-Dik. Liked it in spite of myself, even though at first you think it is not that good. Then you realize that it IS good, really good. She is no Paul Theroux, nor is she trying to be. And that is all to her credit. She traveled up through Africa. He went Cairo to Capetown, she the reverse. Extremely different travels and travelers. She did things he would never be caught dead doing, like joining up with safari groups. As much as I liked his book a great deal, I liked hers as much precisely because she gives you all the personal and cultural detail out of the corner of her eyes. Her eyes are great. She complains a lot about things and yet that helps make us there with her. This IS what travel is like. She is good company. You would love to talk with her, meet her. A lot of people can complain and be terrible company. And she does not go back and rifle through books to flesh out her rants and observations. Rather she crisply and curtly describes the people and the hassles. And the tedium. Remarkable how well she writes about that. She is every bit as experienced as Theroux but not out to write a book. She is about moving along, seeing some things but not interested in making a big deal. She's not out to force grand ideas down our throats. As a result, her book conveys great vitality, the life of all those she meets. She did post her trip on an ongoing website, still up. So she got her immediate audience there. Big generational difference. Later when she wrote this book she had the site and the immediate responses and could draw on all that and recompose her narrative from that base. Her book is a sharp account of hard travels through Africa at the end of her year of touring the world & she writes with economy and clarity, & no sentimentality in spite of 9/11 happening in the middle of her trip when she is on the Muslim island of Zanzibar. And maybe her book will become after all a literary gem because of all of this. Ten times better than, say, Robin Davison's camel walk across Australia, Tracks. Better as a book. Javins can write. Davison cannot. Javins is mightily experienced at travel and this gives her a practical sense of scope and detail and perspective. She keeps it clipped and paced & you get a great sense of what this sort of trekking and traveling is like for the tough and sensitive souls who can do it. Reminds me so much of Tamminnee Taylor, the Australian young woman who traveled for over five years all over the world.

2 comments about Insight City Guide Cape Town.

1. I got this guide as a gift. My friends have the Lonely Planet one and I have seen other brands for Cape Town. The Insight guide is 10 million times better than most of the competition. More detailed and useful photographs, all in color, at least one on each page. Short text but crammed with information for those who would rather spend time on adventures than reading a guide book. It was very entertaining to read as well. If you're going to Cape Town, get this book and you will know what I mean. Their warning about Long Street is hilarious. Their description of the people who hang out at the Clifton Beaches is unbelievable coming from a guide book. There are little interesting stories/facts throughout the book such as the one about the first female doctor to perform a C-section. She was pretending to be a man in order to be a doctor and the truth was only discovered when she died. Again, this book is such a great deal for the price and beats almost all other guidebooks out there at under $10.



2. I ordered 3 different books for my trip to Cape Town and this was by far the best, and the one I constantly came back to.