Customer Reviews

Man Eaters: True Tales of Animals Stalking, Mauling, Killing, and Eating Human Prey

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

 

 

Summary: A series of essays that revolve around the topic of dangerous animals and their life-threatening encounters with humans.
The book is divided into sections by animal; the first third of the book or so is devoted to bears, and there are also sections on lions, crocodiles, elephants, snakes, sharks, leopards, and cougars. By far the most entertaining material is to be found in the bear section, with other interesting stories about sharks and crocodiles. Some of the stories are told in the first person by the people who have had the harrowing experiences; others are more clinical in nature.
The Good and the Bad: Some of the essays were really excellent, particularly the ones told in the first person. The story of a geologist who lived after being partially eaten by a black bear was the best, and a journalistic story about a series of shark attacks was also very good. Another standout was the firsthand account of the lions of Tsavo. The scientific-sounding accounts, on the other hand, were generally boring, and redundant. The book would have been better with about five fewer selections.

What I learned: Snakes aren't really very dangerous, and will never pursue a man as prey. If you have to be attacked by an apex predator, a bear is preferable, as you have at least a chance of surviving. On the other hand, a crocodile is the worst, as a single bite generally ends your life.

This entertaining and sometimes frightening book is a collection of personal accounts of man's run-ins with various deadly beasts. I found the chapters on bears and crocodiles were particularly engaging. Before reading this I believe I underestimated these animals. I was somewhat confused by the inclusion of elephants and venomous snakes, which while certainly dangerous do not qualify as the titular "Man Eaters."
I most enjoyed the more modern accounts of animal attacks. Some of these chapters were written before today's era of conservation and have the flavor of the "great white hunter" to them. While the gruesome nature of the human deaths described is disturbing, it is equally so to read one author's casual mention of his personal killing of "1400 elephants."
I would recommend the book because of several very good chapters, but there are certainly chapters which do not live up to my 4 star rating.

I ordered this book for a friend and it looked interesting. I decided to read it myself and LOVED it! Now I'm buying my own copy. It isn't as graphic as I expected - so it won't "gross you out." It gives tips on surviving bear attacks which I thought were very interesting. According to this book, there are two types of grizzly bear attacks. The DEFENSE attack happens when you surprise a bear, get close to cubs, or get close to it's kill that it is still feeding on when it gets hungry. This is the type attack where the advice is to "play dead" with your arms protecting your head. The PREDATOR attack is when the bear is hunting you. If you are grabbed out of your tent while you are sleeping or otherwise attacked without provocation you are probably thought of as "FOOD." The advice is to fight with anything you have or run. This book also covers the Tsavo man-eaters. These lions were the true inspiration for the movie "Ghost in the Darkness." This is a great read!

This is a book that can make you want to be more aware before venturing into the woods. As I am interested in dangerous wildlife and hunting stories, I was hoping this would be a good book; it was. The essays cover subjects ranging from the bears of North America to crocodiles to poisonous snakes (technically not man eaters) to sharks. The bear stories are usually very interesting and informative but be warned, they can be graphic and disturbing as well. The book features some of Col Patterson's writings on the Lions of Tsavo and Jim Corbet's pursuit of a man eating leopard in India. Overall, an informative, sometimes exciting, and at times very graphic book highlighting some dangers of the natural world.