Customer Reviews

The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (Peter Capstick Library Series)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

You don't have to be a hunter to enjoy this book--I'm not, and I loved it. Contrary to the title's suggestion, this book is not merely about the Lions of Tsavo. In fact, both lions are dispatched fairly early in the book. Nevertheless, Patterson's account of their carnage, and efforts to kill them, are detailed and exciting, and probably unlike anything that will ever be written again.

This book is also gives a micro-social look at British imperialism in Africa around the turn of the century...an interesting slice of Africana, especially through our arguably hypersensitive, politically-correct modern eyes.

Generally, an easy read, filled with local color, hunting, and excitement.

Man Eaters is one of the few readily available books detailing life on one of the last frontiers. The book is good, but less than half of it has to do with hunting of any kind. It is more a journal of time spent at Tsavo 100 years ago. For white nuckle reading about more real man eating cats pick up anything by Jim Corbett. Equally good reading about hunting other dangerous game can be had from Peter Capstick. Good reading, and good hunting.

The Man-Eaters of Tsavo by J. H. Patterson is available in several editions. It's sort of confusing which one to buy. Here are some notes on each edition:

The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (Peter Capstick Libary Series).
Publisher: St. Martins Press, 1985. 384 pages.
When The Man-Eaters of Tsavo was originally published in 1907, it contained a wealth of photos and a map. Photos appeared on every two to three pages. These photos showed many local scenes, as well as the infamous lions. These photos are very valuable for establishing a sense of place that words alone can't do. Beware of inexpensive reprints that omit all the photos and the map. The quality of the photo reproductions is not great in the Capstick Library edition. But these are the best looking photos in any edition currently available. This edition is virtually identical to the original book. The page sequence is the same, with only the addition of some new preface pages. This is the book to buy; however, for some strange reason it's hard to find on Amazon. If you search for "tsavo", you'll find used copies of this book at horribly inflated prices. But this book is still in print. Search for "tsavo capstick" and you'll find it--along with very reasonably priced used copies (under $10).

Man Eaters Of Tsavo [Hardcover].
Publisher: St. Martins Press, 1985. 384 pages.
If you search for "tsavo" on Amazon, this is the hardcover edition of this book that you'll find. You'll likely see no trace of the Capstick edition. Well, it's the same book. Unfortunately, "Man Eaters of Tsavo [Hardcover]" is being sold like it's a collector's item, at inflated prices. Don't fall for this. Get the Capstick Library book listed above.

The Man-eaters of Tsavo.
Publisher: SMK Books, 2009. 152 pages.
If all you want is the text, if you don't care about seeing approximately 100 photographs, if you don't want a map, then this is a reasonably priced alternative. All the text from the original edition is compressed onto 152 pages, in a tiny font. The map and all photos have been removed. You can get a used hardcover copy of the Capstick Library book for only $2 to $3 more than the SMK book, so I would find it hard to justify buying the SMK edition.

The Man-Eaters of Tsavo: And Other East African Adventures (Classic Reprint). Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2010. 360 pages.
This is a duplicate of the original book. A library copy was pulled and photographed page by page. The reproductions of the photographs from the original book are horribly muddy--and virtually worthless. Strangely, if you search for "tsavo" on Amazon, this book seems to be a reasonably priced alternative. So many people have apparently purchased this edition. Don't be fooled. Look for the Capstick Library book instead, which only costs a few dollars more and has better reproduction of the photos (as well as a few extra pages in the preface).

The Lions of Tsavo: Exploring the Legacy of Africa's Notorious Man-Eaters
by Bruce D. Patterson
This is a different Patterson entirely. And thus a different book. Bruce Patterson is a scientist who recently studied the lions of Tsavo, while J. H. Patterson is the hunter who shot the infamous Tsavo lions. The scientist's book is good. But you should be aware that this isn't the tale told by the hunter.

Ghosts of Tsavo : Stalking the Mystery Lions of East Africa
by Philip Caputo
This a contemporary tale of a journalist following in J.H. Patterson's steps and investigating the lions of Tsavo. This is a good book. The first chapter is incredible as he retells the story of the lions that killed a mind-boggling number of railroad workers (possibly over 120 people died). The subsequent chapters are of a more personal nature as Caputo journeys to Africa and looks for the maneless Tsavo lions.

I hope this helps!

Yep....my father loved this book and so read it to me every night, grisly chapter after grisly chapter, and got down on the floor to act out the lions howling, elephants thumpeting, and what I reckon was Pap's interpretive dance of the Masai. Yessir--I was just a kid, unable yet to read, and this sort of grotesque foolishness scared the daylights out of me. I soon got to where I would rather take a good flogging then be read another chapter of "Maneaters." Well, as an adult and Pap now long dead, I hold these memoiries dear and bought the book after the fictionalized movie was released. Get "Maneaters." It is the real thing with the bark left on. Ted Franklin Belue

I really enjoyed reading this book. After spending a year in Kenya myself this brought back some memories (no I didn't encounter any maneaters). This books has lots of great b&w photos and descriptions of some of the many tribes of Kenya. Yes, only the first 100 of 300 pages deals with lion hunting, but as the Kenyan Culture Host @ Bella Online I highly recommend this book.

THIS MAN ENDURED ALOT OF THINGS IN AFRICA,HIS ACCOUNTS OF STALKING ,HUNTING AND KILLING THE TWO MANEATERS OF TSAVO IS A VERY GOOD STORY HANDS DOWN.THE AMAZING THING IS THAT THESE MANELESS LIONS CAN STILL BE SEEN TO THIS DAY AS THEY ARE STUFFED AND IN A MUSEUM HERE IN THE STATES! PATTERSON WAS AN ENGINEER CONTRACTED TO WORK ON THE RAILROAD, HIS WORKERS KEPT QUITTING HIM ON ACCOUNT OF THE LIONS FEEDING ON THEM AT WILL, PATTERSON FINALLY DECIDED TO TAKE MATTERS INTO HIS OWN HANDS AND THE EXCITING EVENTS THAT TRANSPIRE ARE WORTH THE READ.

After seeing the actual stuffed Tsavo lions at Chicago's Field Museum (Field alone is worth the trip to Chicago), I purchased the 40 page excerpt from Patterson's book from the museum gift shop. Apparently, it is the portion of the book dealing with the hunt. Fascinating. I was particularly interested in Patterson's victorian colonial perspective. Even without the portions of the book about the mutinous workers, you can pretty easily figure out that all was not well-- despite the attacks, he doesn't ever arm his Indian crew members (whom he refers to as "coolies," in classic colonial fashion). I would highly recommend the pamphlet, and I am buying the rest of the book, and looking forward to devouring it (pun intended).