Customer Reviews

A Man Called Lion: The Life and Times of John Howard Pondoro Taylor

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't get me wrong here, I'm one of the biggest Capstick fans there is but what I've seen from him is this: He either writes a nail biting account of personal or researched adventures or he rambles on about some boring life chronology spiced up by only a few tidbits of adventure or peril. Thats the way parts of Silent Places is and thats how this book is. If you are a fan of John Taylor or are interested in getting a history lesson of the everyday life of someone like him, then you'll probably enjoy this book.

Me, I'm a fan of the man who writes about the true life (or not)near death experiences of Corbett, Patterson, and himself in exotic bush locations in a time long since forgotten.

I knew what I was getting into when I bought this book but, hey, it's a Capstick book and I have to read 'em all. It's not a terrible book but it's definitely not Long Grass or Dark Continent.

I have enjoyed Capstick other stories in the past, but this one bored me to tears. It is nought but a rehash of "Pondoro" with some extra information from casual acquaintances of the Irish writer/hunter. The fact that Taylor was a homosexual didn't deserve chapter after chapter since, despite Capstick's analysis, his more serious failings were a total disregard for the Law and an inability to hold on to his pennies. That brought about his downfall, not his preference for the same sex. John Taylor deserved a better epitaph than this book.

This is a good book for any fans of John Howard pondoro" Taylor. Capstick has given us another look at Taylor through the people who knew him.this book reinforces Taylors writtings and tells some great stories of another African hunter,so if you are a fan of Capstick you won't be disapointed while reading this book.

This book was done in collaboration with another Africana author Brain Marsh, who apparently lived all of his life around the African hunting scene. Together they worked to explore the life of John Howard Taylor, one of the true characters from the western world who managed to push a lifetime of adventure into a relatively short period of time on the African continent. I will start by stating that I have read most of Taylor's books and found them to be very entertaining so this unauthorized biography on his life was of particular interest when I first encountered it. I would also report that "A Man Called Lion" is a well-written book that adequately covers the factual time line of John Taylor's life including the jobs he held, historical records he left and times he spent away from his beloved Africa due to illness, wars or legal troubles. All of this was done in a professional manner that flowed from one chapter to the next making these parts of the book enjoyable to read. Based on the research, we can follow the track of Taylor's life and piece together the time gaps that were so prevalent in his writings. On these points the book scored well but the author's then took a further step by venturing into the land of conjecture and theories and for the life of me I can't understand why. Regardless of reasons, the effect was profound. I would start by offering that none of us are privileged enough to know the motivations behind every action or decision another person makes during the course of their life and this is why accusations, involving sexual behavior in particular, are so dangerous. This book, unfortunately, is no exception to the age old rule regarding the topic of another person's sex life and the discussion of it having the ability to sell things such as this book.I found this to be a profound shame given the otherwise outstanding content. Perhaps the discussion of Taylor's sex life was intended to boost sales but the book didn't really need this so why insinuate, then later label Taylor a practicing homosexual. With Taylor himself long since departed and not a single person living or dead reporting a relationship of this type, I find these statements no better than slander and I wasn't alone with these feelings. Years after I placed the book aside, I read that a hunting partner of Taylor's, Mr. John Dawkins, was outraged at the way Taylor's private life was characterized stating that he never witnessed or suspected any of these alleged behaviors and went on to recount, that had he known the authors were planning to print these presumptions, he would never have contributed one word of assistance to their book. This is a powerful stand from a man who lived in close proximity to Taylor for the better part of four years. Even though I enjoyed the factual information given about John Taylor's colorful life, the headline grabbing nonsense regarding his sexuality placed a dark shadow over the entire project and for these reasons alone, I have trouble rating it higher or recommending this book to anyone.

This is a very good review which is based upon many personal experiences with the subject. It is also honest and doesn't whitewash anything about the man. I found it riveting reading. I read it in only a couple of days.

AFTER YOU START READING THIS BOOK YOU BEGIN TO SEE THE DEEP DEVOTION THIS MAN HAS FOR AFRICA, THIS STORY IS VERY INTERESTING, SOMETIMES FUNNY AND IN THE END KINDA SAD. JOHN TAYLOR HAD A GREAT KNOWLEDGE OF GUNS AND CALIBURS AND WAS WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER IN TODAYS TIMES AN UNETHICAL HUNTER. THIS STORY IS FROM A DIFFIRENT TIME AND A DIFFIRENT AFRICA, A GOOD ADDITION TO YOUR CAPSTICK COLLECTION.

John Pondoro Taylor and my father met each other in World War II and continued to maintain contact later. (Taylor was based for a while in India during the War.) Both were intelligence officers and both were avid hunters though my father was a sportman who hunted tigers in India and never in Africa.

I met Pondoro only once at our home in India, shortly before he died but kept in touch through letters. My memory is that he was returning from Australia and stopped in India on the way to England. This was shortly before his death. He was then in his sixties.

Capstick exaggerates the misery of his final years in London. Pondoro had close association with the great British gunmakers, especially John Rigby and Holland & Holland, but I don't know if he had any business dealings with them. He inherited his father's title and was known in later life as Sir John Taylor. His father Sir William Taylor was a famous surgeon who knew my father as a medical student in London.

In person and in letters, Pondoro didn't come across as a teller of tall tales. He had the British reserve though Irish in his attitude towards what he regarded as British hypocrisy. As far as Pondoro's homosexuality is concerned, it is pure conjecture on Capstick's part and probably untrue. I say this based on the fact that some years after his death, at Cambridge University, I met a striking looking African woman from Angola who told me she was Pondoro's daughter. She didn't look like him but had some of his mannerisms down to an Irish accent.

None of this matters. As far as I am concerned Pondoro was a wonderful man and a wonderful writer, whose writing is much better than anything Capstick ever wrote. I feel that Capstick's book is unfair to Pondoro's memory.

If a ever a man turned the gender concept on it's ear, it was John Howard "Pondoro" Taylor. He shot the biggest game, carried the best big-bore rifles and fought the toughest men.
I would ask readers to overlook Taylor's sexual orientation and concentrate on his prowess as a writer, hunter, and rifleman.This book is best read after reading Taylor's autobiography.

I absolutely loved this book. Pondoro may have had faults but this is a great tale! The chapter on Fletcher Jamieson is brilliant!!

This biography re-inforces the fact that John Taylor had been a controversial African hunting personality. It answers many questions, but it leaves as many unanswered.
Like most books from this publisher it physically is a quality publication. Hardcover with durable dust jacket. The paper could have been better but thankfully it is not glossy and frankly, it is okay. A frustrating aspect for me is the bundling of the photographs in an out of place section, rather than having designed the book with the photographs in the text where they belong and reference logically. The font size, type and line spacing are fine and the book reads easily. This can also be attributed to the late Peter Capstick's extraordinary literary skills. The Table of Contents is Meaningless as it only refers to the chapters by number without any headings.
The book unfortunately over emphasises certain aspects of Taylor's personality such as his alleged homosexuality, while not answering the more important questions such as why English gunmaker records do not show him as the customer he claimed to be, or why a man of his undeniable talent and intellect could not find employment in the British gun trade after his return to the UK. The other rumour floating around about his life, that he used Fletcher Jamieson's notes for his book is also not addressed. I find it a bit sad that our industry always finds a way to knock everybody who even remotely lifts his head above mediocrity.
It is absolutely great that a biography about Taylor had seen the light and an informative biography it is. The best of (about) Taylor came from his own pen and I recommend that you first read his African Rifles & Cartridges, his Pondoro as well as his Big Game and Big Game Rifles. You can also try Maneaters & Marauders as well as Shadows of Shame. Then you add this book to your collection to wrap everything up.