Customer Reviews

Man-Eaters of Kumaon (Oxford India Paperbacks)

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It's refreshing to read the memoirs of someone who was so famous yet so humble. He killed more than a dozen of the worst man-eating leopards and tigers in India in the early part of last century but never beats his chest or commits an unethical act. He was a true hunter and outdoorsman of the highest order and his stories reflect that.

You won't get any fluff or exaggeration with Jim Corbett. He was the REAL DEAL and his chess matches against these infamous man-eaters are legendary. From the 50 mile roadmarches to the 2 day stakeouts to the high suspense tracking of wounded killers, this man was tough as nails.

This book is one of his best and a must for any hunting/adventure collection.

A lot of tigers and leopards die in this book. If you belong to PETA, then, this isn't the book for you. Jim Corbett begins with the premise that tigers and leopards who kill humans must be killed.

But he then begins his exposition with the story of the Champawat man-eating tigress, and how he first undertook to hunt such a beast. As I followed him into the jungle, I couldn't help but marvel at his recounting of his fear, his missteps, his eventual triumph.

But what I loved most of all was his keen eye for detail. Corbett isn't satisfied to say, "I shot the man-eater;" he must explain why that tiger's old paw injury forced her to substitute humans for her natural prey. And as you go on in the book, you begin to sense that Corbett is not a hunter who kills to bolster an inadequate ego; rather, his great joy springs from his natural affinity and long years of association with tigers, leopards, and the other denizens of the jungle.

It's probably worth knowing that in his later years, as the wilds of India became overrun with people, he turned to photo safaris; he wished to share his experiences of viewing these animals in their native habitat with the entire world, without doing any harm. If you, then, can sympathize with such a perspective, I wholly recommend this book; you'll come away with a new fascination with the great creatures we share our planet with.

Jim Corbett was one of eight children of a colonial postmaster stationed in the foothills of the Himalaya in India. He was born in 1875 and started hunting when he was eight years old. Between 1907 and 1938, he hunted a number of "man eating" tigers and leopards-including the Champawat Man Eater, which was responsible for over 400 deaths, and the the Rudraprayag Leopard, which was rumored to have been responsible for over 125 deaths. When a new man eater began to wreak havoc, the village people called on "Carpet Sahib" for help. In this book, which was first published in 1944, Corbett tells ten exciting and enlightening stories that keep the reader turning pages to see how they turn out. Sometimes the reader begins to wonder whether Corbett will get the tiger or the tiger will get him. Listen to Corbett tell of his meeting with the Chowgarh Tigress who killed at least 64 people and maybe twice that...

"As I stepped clear of the giant slate, I looked behind me over my right shoulder and--looked straight into the tigress' face. I would like you to have a clear picture of the situation. Her fore paws were stretched out and her hind legs were well tucked under her. Her head, which was raised a few inches off her paws, was eight feet from me. On her face was a smile, similar to that one sees on the face of a dog welcoming his master home after a long absence."

Along the way through his stories, Corbett displays amazing understanding of jungle lore and insights into the animal that probably most deserves the title "King of Beasts." He also explains what causes his prey to begin preying on people. Corbett obviously admired his quarry and considered the "tiger a gentleman." Later in life, Colonel Corbett gave up the rifle for a camera and focused his efforts on conservation. He was instrumental in creating India's first national park, Hailey Park, that has since been renamed in his honor. This is a delightful book by a modest teller of great true-life stories that will appeal to those interested in nature, life in colonial India, hunting or adventure.

Corbett was the finest hunter of man-eating felines ever to walk the planet. He could tell more from a bent blade of grass and some misplaced dew, than most people could if they read a book. Discover why he thinks of a tiger as a large-hearted gentleman. He was a expert naturalist as well, knowing all of the animl calls and signs in the jungle. Go with him as he creeps within 12 ft. of the Thak man-eater, who was asleep (imagine the skill needed to stalk within 12 ft of a tiger! ). Discover the fear as he faces his 1st man-eater. Corbett killed many tigers and leopards, but he wasn't blood thirsty of kill crazed, he did it so people would not be killed. Corbett had everything you could have wanted in a hunter, intelligence, skills, and above all absolute confidence is his ability. Why else would he stalk tigers who had killed 100's of people in the jungle alone, and come out the victor?

This book is about man-eating tigers in India and the man who hunted them. Jim Corbett was born in India, the son of a British colonial postmaster in the foothills of the Himalayas. As a boy, Corbett spent most of his time wandering in the jungle, and became not only an expert on tigers, but on all of the jungle animals and birds.When there was a man-eating tiger about, the government officials would always ask Corbett to track down and kill the man-eater (The tigers had HUNDREDS of victims!). It was a very dangerous business, and Corbett was almost killed many times. He would sit up all night over a human kill, waiting for the man-eater to come back. This book is a very suspenseful, exciting page-turner and a bloody good read!--Daniel Smith, 5th grade homeschooler

Corbett's writing is a rare thing. It is spare and exact as any literary reader could want, and at the same time as exciting as any adventure novel---and every word is fact.
Corbett was a man of decency, honor and humanity. To read his writing is to see into his soul, and to see what man can be, yet seldom is. In this age of braggadocio and bluster it is good to remind oneself that men can be more. Few of us have such dangerous work as did Corbett, but we may all choose to live as decently and honorably and, most of all, humbly.
Corbett was also an ecologist, biologist and lover of nature, as odd as that may seem for a big game hunter. He both loved and respected the tigers he killed, and did much to stop their destruction. Too often, environmentalists know nothing of what they seek to preserve. Corbett knew the forests of India, the fauna and flora both.

I had read and heard of ahimsa (loosely translated as non-violence) as preached and practised by Gandhi. I am also familiar with the much wider concept of ahimsa one finds in Hindu philosophy : a state of mind where you cease to differentiate your self from any other being. I had also read about yogis and mystics who had actually reached such a state of mind. Vedanta textbooks say that knowledge (of the ultimate reality) drives away fear. But in all these readings I was only vaguely aware of the inherent link between ahimsa and fearlessness until I chanced upon "Man-Eaters of Kumaon". How does Corbett overcome fear? Is it just a matter of cold reason? Is it just his intimate knowledge of the terrain, the knowledge of the ways of man eaters, his ability to understand and imitate the language of most of the animals that were to be found in Kumaon ? As a ten year old boy he had his first trophy when he first wounded and then stalked and finished off a full grown leopard. As a middle aged man, during an epidemic outbreak of cholera in Mokamah, where he worked as a railway contractor, he nursed back to life a cholera victim left abandoned by fellow travellers. His deep sympathy and love for those simple folk among whom he lived and worked is inseparable from the courage he showed when called upon to stand by them; one feeds on the other. These Kumaon stories are replete with instances where the victim's own folk had panicked on seeing (or even sensing) a man-eater , leaving the poor victim alone. In one instance a villager simply shut his door when he received no reply from his wife who had, a little while earlier, stepped out of her hut to relieve herself. Ironically enough most of the victims of the Kumaon "man-eaters" happened to be women. This should not come as a surprise because most of the work in fields or firewood collecting is done by the women. It is significant that the only instance of courage in the face of danger is due to a young woman who ran, shouting and brandishing her sickle, after! the tiger which was carrying off her sister. When the predator turned its attention on its pursuer she managed to run back to safety, but the shock left her completely speechless for about a year. About a year later Corbett managed to kill the tiger and on returning with the kill laid it first at her door step; when she ran out to inform the rest of the villagers she was seen shouting at the top of her voice! Whole villages were abandoned when a man eater was reported in the area; people feared to step beyond their courtyard even to relieve themselves so that these villages soon turned filthy and unhygenic. Against this backdrop of terror, which paralysed the life of villages for miles around, Corbett realized the need to instill courage in the hearts of men and help them get back to normal life; often he would stand guard as the villagers harvested their fields or collected water from nearby streams. The next step is to track down the man-eater and this requires immense hard work - not just skill and courage - and could take months. What sustains a shikari in such circumstances ? Surely not the prize money; one of the preconditions that he sets before the Government is that the prize money be withdrawn. Reading these stories one cannot help feeling that it is something much more than the mere thrill and adventure in the act involved, that motivates Corbett. And finally the act of killing and the words that describe it never betray a sense of ill will or hatred towards the prey; what else could be ahimsa even in the act of killing itself. Such a state of mind is the mind of a yogi - at once fearless and non violent.

There was no one like Jim Corbett. A modest, unpretentious man who respected not only the denizens of the jungle, but the people of India as well (perhaps not very common among Englishmen in those days). Bravery without braggadocio. Way better than Capstick!

Young boys, who want to grow up to be men, will find no better role model than Jim Corbett.

Jim Corbett was likely the greatest hunter of man eating cats that ever lived, anywhere. He was also a great naturalist and fortunately for us an absolutely splendid writer of his observations and feelings. His stories of the hunts, the hills, the people are mesmerizing and touching. A true master of the hunt and of the pen. Having read books by numerous hunters from around the world, I can say without any hesitancy that Col. Jim Corbett is without contest the greatest hunter of big game that ever lived to tell about it.\

The very best reading of its kind. Period.

Man eaters of Kumaon is a fantastic book about hunting Royal Bengal tigers in the Indian Himilaya. The author describes his thrilling hunts with great descriptive passages and when he hunts, he does so with great care and passion. In fact he shot the Pipil Pani tiger because he was eating sheep, goats, and other small domestic animals. He shot the Bachelor of Powlghar because he had attacked one of his freinds. The bachelor of Powlghar was recorded as being one of the largest Bengal tigers ever, he was ten foot seven inches over curves!
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the great outdoor and and likes tigers.