Customer Reviews

Death in the Dark Continent

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book at a local library fund-raiser, thinking I'd give it a try. I'm frankly not a hunter at all, and never will be (I'm actually much closer to the "preservationsits" he less-than-enthusiatically mentions throughout the book). But I must admit two things: First, I liked this book a whole lot more than I expected to; and second, it made me take another look at the relatinship between two environment-loving species who are traditionally enemies, namely Hunters and Conservationsists. This book captures what big-game hunting in colonial Africa must have really been like. Reading these exploits, it's impossible not to feel a certain mourning for what is now essentially a lost culture...killed off by political changes and a changed environmental ethos. Not that I'd turn the clock back if could...but wow, the experiences they had! The term "armchair adventure" was coined for books like this. Capstick was a great writer in the macho-pulp tradition, full of gore, danger, and bravavo. Even those who hate the idea of big-game hunting would find themselves caught up in the sheer awful majesty of it all. Throughout the book, I repeatedly found myself impressed with the obvious love of the land and wildlife that Capstick articulates. It realy underscored the common love of nature at the heart of all outdoorsy-people...something that's hard to see when that love is later manifested in forms as seemingly opposed to one another as big-game hunting and environmentalism. I doubt whether Capstick would have seen it that way, and I certainly don't think that most environmnetalists would see it that way either...but it's there if you look. Maybe that's a lesson for all of us.

Capstick reprises his role as master yarn-spinner of African legend in Dark Continent. The book is entirely devoted to Africa's "Big Five" dangerous game animals; lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo.

This hi-octane collection of stories ranks second only to "Long Grass" as my PHC favorite. It is completely FULL of experiences, legends and tales of close calls or catastrophes. Capstick goes chapter by chapter showing us without a doubt why each animal is included among Africa's Dangerous Game.

The stories themselves are heart pounding. Capstick can put you behind the sights and in the path of a charging rhino like no one else. You'll be bathed in sweat as he drags you through the thick Mopane scrubb searching for that man-eating leopard or gut-shot lion. Ol' Pete may be the most thrilling safari adventure writer of all time.

In addition to the danger, PHC also takes us back in history to the golden days of the White Hunter and relives the world record trophy hunts in each category. You'll hear about giant tuskers with 200lbs on each side, massive 10ft lions, and rhinos big enough to derail a train. I found this wonderful reading. It was like going to a world record trophy museum and getting a behind-the-scenes look at each hunt.

This book is a MUST for anyone who enjoys safari legend, hunting, or adventure. Highly recommended. I guess you could say I give it a "Big Five."

The first book of Capstick, that I read. A wonderful style of story telling, that grips you and forces you to read it again and again. Capstick has an ability to increase the interest of reader, as compared to some big game hunters, who get more technical and factual. Although he will also tell you about guns, calibres, bullet weights, scientific knowledge, geography etc, but does not make it boring for reader. Capstick's opinion, about most dangerous game and his rating & analysis of big five, is no doubt, very true, and is confirmed by, what is written by the great white hunter J.A. Hunter. I fully appreciate author's efforts and research done, in finding the exact story of the world record elephant tusks.

It was a revealing book for all who have not yet hunted in Afrika or anywhere else. Revealing in a way that all of my delusion about hunting in Afrika were defenetly broken. If you think that hunting is just siting down behind a bush and waiting for an animal to shoot you are mistaken. How dangerous it really is can be told by the fact that most great hunters were either eaten by a lion or trempelled by an elephant. This is an absolute must for all who love adventure and reading in general.

If you havent read Capstick, you are missing out on a treat. Not only are his stories, graphic, exciting and compelling, his style of writing is nothing short of superb. Genuinly exciting, and often laugh out loud funny, all of his books are fantastic. When talking about the turn of the century past-time of "galloping lions" (described as "dangerous as typhoid") he writes:" THe elements recquired for the monotony breaking past time were a fast horse, a good rifle, a few lions and not much concern about the future".

Not for the faint of heart, there is a number of gory stories about the fatal encouters that people have, and some well placed warnings about taking any dangerous animal lightly.

A lot like his first book, "death in the long grass" Capstick writes about individual animals- with a chapter on the "big five", Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant, Leopard ( the best chapter in the book- beatifully written) and Lion. As before he relates his own experinces, plus encouters as described by his friends.

I would recommend Death in the LOng Grass as a first Capstick book, but this is still most highly recommended.

I really liked this book. I do not remember why I picked it up, but I am so happy that I did. I felt like I was sitting in a bar listening to someone who just came back from Africa. I am a hunter and I now have a new found respect for a lot of the big game animals of the dark continant. The book covers the big five of the game animals and the stories are remakable. This book is a must read for the hunter and the adventure junkie. I made my hunting buddy read the book. After the chapter on the Cape Buffalo he called me to say that he now wants to hunt something that will charge. We both purchased big bore rifles and are planning a boar hunt. Trust me you will want to too. Do not read this book if your wife will devorce you over one more hunting trip. You will miss her

Many other reviewers have characterized "Death in the Dark Continent" very, very well. It is a bit more graphic than Capstick's earlier "Death in the Long Grass", but not much.
But you definitely do NOT have to be a hunter to thoroughly enjoy Capstick. I think, though, there are a lot of non-hunters who simply haven't discovered how good Capstick really is at "grabbing you, making you sweat blood, and not releasing you until you've died three times, passed Elvis and Hoffa twice, and are coming around for heart attack number 4. Capstick is not just " a hunter with a typewriter". He is Hannibal Lecter mixed with Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King multiplied by Norman Bates and home-schooled by JAWS. If you thought Amityville and Elm Street were scary, you were wrong. Peter Capstick will show you Scary in "Death in the Dark Continent". If you thought "The Pit and the Pendulum" was mind-wrecking, you were wrong. "Mind-wrecking" starts on page 152 of Death in the Silent Places. Read it early in the day.

Originally published in 1983, this book describes big game hunting in Africa. After a brief introduction, each subsequent chapter contains details and anecdotes about hunting each of the Big Five game animals of Africa (Cape Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant, Leopard, and Lion). In particular, this book is largely about the dangers of hunting each of the Big Five. All I can say is that being a safari guide/hunter must be an incredible life. I purchased this after reading Hemingway's `Green Hills of Africa' and Robert Ruark's `Robert Ruark's Africa' and was not disappointed. There isn't really a single narrative through this book, it is written in a more of a conversational style, almost as if you are sitting with Capstick in camp in the evening after a day of hunting and he is recounting various tales, `urban legands', and historical anecdotes about hunting each of the big five over a Scotch whiskey. If you don't know who he was, Peter Capstick was a hunter, guide, and prolific author who passed away in 1996. Capstick writes about a much later era than Ruark or Hemingway, things have clearly changed. There are more people about (farming, grazing animals, etc.), and the game is heavily controlled by the national authorities. Overall this is a very good, if not uniquely outstanding, read. Capstick writes with an easy prose, and the pages just sail by. After working through this book, you're quite likely to get the urge to pack up a few of your shootin' irons and buy an airline ticket to Nairobi (I know I did!). I give it only four stars though as much of the ground covered by Capstick has been well tread by others (e.g. everyone seems to feel the need to give their opinion about which of the big five is the most dangerous). I also liked Ruark's writing style more, and there was something more romantic and dangerous about safari hunting in Ruark's era (this is no fault of PC though) - they really were out in Indian territory. The more modern safari isn't quite so wild. In any case, if you love the outdoors, hunting, and testing your mettle against some of the world most dangerous game (or at least reading about it!), I would highly recommend this book. A little different than hunting white-tailed deer!

Peter Capstick once again gives his readers what they want. This book is full of hair raising stories of hunteres and the hunted.

Read how Capstick's tracker is nearly gored by a rhino, actually holding onto the horn to save himself.

See how a cape buffalo in a bad mood can turn a man into something even a big city coroner will never forget.

Discover why smoking may be good for your health, if you track wounded leopards into the long grass at night.

The BIG 5 are considered the most dangerous animals on the continent of Africa for good reason. Capstick will be more than happy to fill you in on the reasons, and leave no doubt that they are all dangerous and deadly.

Death in the Dark Continent, is Capstick at his best. For the sportsman, it provides valuable information on hunting Africa's "Big Five". For the armchair adventurer, it is an instant portal to the hair-raising realm of primal experience. The chapter on Cape Buffalo is literary gold! Capstick is a master at keeping the reader engaged, intrigued, and simply captivated. If you love the thrill of the hunt, told in the most descriptive language imaginable, then Death in the Dark Continent is a must read.