The Man-Eaters of Tsavo [Paperback]

John Henry Patterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2005

Considered to be one of the most famous stories of man-eating lions in modern times, "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo" is the first-hand account of Lieutanant-Colonel John Henry Patterson's encounter with several man-eating lions during the building of the Uganda railway through British East Africa in 1898. Contained within this volume is the original 1907 book with over a hundred photographs and illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1898 John H. Patterson arrived in East Africa with a mission to build a railway bridge over the Tsavo River. What started out as a simple engineering problem, however, soon took on almost mythical proportions as Patterson and his mostly Indian workforce were systematically hunted by two man-eating lions over the course of several weeks. During that time, 100 workers were killed, and the entire bridge-building project ground to a halt. As if the lions weren't enough, Patterson had to guard his back against his own increasingly hostile and mutinous workers as he set out to track and kill the man-eaters. This larger-than-life tale forms the basis of the entertaining film The Ghost and the Darkness, but for readers who want to know the whole--and true--story, The Man-Eaters of Tsavo comes straight from the great white-hunter's mouth.

Patterson's account of the lions' reign of terror and his own subsequent attempts to kill them is the stuff of great adventure, and his unmistakably Victorian manner of telling it only adds to the thrill. Consider this description of the aftermath of an attack by the lions: "...we at once set out to follow the brutes, Mr. Dalgairns feeling confident that he had wounded one of them, as there was a trail on the sand like that of the toes of a broken limb.... we saw in the gloom what we at first took to be a lion cub; closer inspection, however, showed it to be the remains of the unfortunate coolie, which the man-eaters had evidently abandoned at our approach. The legs, one arm and half the body had been eaten, and it was the stiff fingers of the other arm trailing along the sand which had left the marks we had taken to be the trail of a wounded lion...." This classic tale of death, courage, and terror in the African bush is still a page-turner, even after all these years. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

First published in 1907, this title depicts the author's adventures in Africa. One incident, involving two man-eating lions that were preying on railroad workers, is the basis for the current feature film The Ghost and the Darkness. Fans of true adventure will be interested in this.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Digireads.com (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420923870
• ISBN-13: 978-1420923872
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #867,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Outdoors & Nature > Hunting & Fishing > Hunting
  • #47 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Mammals

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful glimpse of British Colonialism, February 11, 2003

By 

M. Dog (Everywhere and Nowhere) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (Peter Capstick Library Series) (Hardcover)

This is a fascinating book. The writer, Col. J.H. Patterson, was an engineer sent to Africa to work on the "Lunatic Express", a stretch of rail that spanned Africa. Several obstacles confronted him, not the last of which was a pair of mane-less lions that went on a man-eating spree that lightened the coolie labor force by about 30 workers and an unrecorded number of African workers. Several things become apparent as one reads this work: first, the unbelievable hubris of the British Empire, personified in the person of Patterson. By the end of the book, I was won over by this clearly Victorian man, who without any specific training simply sorted out whatever problem came his way, including the hunting and killing of the two lions. This feat in itself required a staggering amount of courage and determination. This book is a glimpse into the soul, both good and bad, of the Empire on which the sun never set: Patterson was incredibly brave, smart, maybe even noble - and never once saw a native African as anything other than faithful or amusing.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT LOOK AT EARLY COLONIAL AFRICA, October 15, 2005

By 

Capt. Lou Costello "Capt. Lou" (Asia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (Peter Capstick Library Series) (Hardcover)

This book, first published in 1907, tells the story of the predations of two huge lions on the workers who were constuctuing a railway from the East coast of Africa to the then new settlement of Nairobi. These killed and devoured 130 or so people, Indian workers, native Africans and they also dined on a number of Europeans as well. The author is a true Victorian and a man of his times who writes of his ordeal very well and without the nauseating political correctness of today. The story of his hunt and the building of the railroad is a great read. It is edited by Peter Capstick, a man who was arguably one of the last of the Great White Hunters.

Much to the author's credit he does not belittle or demean the Indians or Africans in any way. He had a camera and took many remarkable photos and eventually became a naturalist of some repute. This book was also the inspiration for the movie Ghost and the Darkness which I thought was also quite good. The two lions he killed are in a museum in Chicago. For the Africa scholar who wants a bit of a different insight into Africa this is a fine addition to one's library.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truth is stranger than fiction!, May 11, 1998

By 

Tim Stoffel - See all my reviews

This review is from: The MAN EATERS OF TSAVO (Mass Market Paperback)

I have been fascinated with lions for years, so when the movie 'The Ghost and the Darkness' came out, I had to see it. I had heard brief accounts of this story before, and found the movie most fascinating. However, the book told an even more interesting tale than the movie. In my opinion, if the account in the book had been faithfully followed in the film, it would have been even more exciting! Besides the Tsavo man-eaters story, ther are other hair-raising stories about man-eating lions in the book. This book is basically a reprint of the 1097 edition with an excellent preface added. The preface goes into depth about the life of Colonel J.H. Patterson-- a most remarkable man. He went on to other notable adventures in his life after this incident.