Sands Of Silence: On Safari In Namibia [Hardcover]

Peter H. Capstick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1991

From the successor to Ruark and Hemingway comes the most lavishly illustrated, historically important safari ever captured in print.

Peter Hathaway Capstick journeyed on safari through Namibia in the African spring of 1989. This was a nation on the eve on independence, a land scorched by sun, by years of bitter war. In these perilous circumstances, Peter Capstick commences what is surely the most thrilling safari of his stories career. He takes the reader to the stark landscape that makes up the Bushmen's tribal territories. There, facing all kinds of risks, members of the chase pursue their quarry in a land of legend and myth. the result is an exciting big-game adventure whose underlying themes relate directly to the international headlines of today.

In this first person adventure, Capstick spins riveting tales from his travels and reports on the Bushmen's culture, their political persecution, and the Stone Age life of Africa's original hunter-gatherers. In addition, the author explains the economic benefits of the sportsman's presence, and how ethical hunting is a tool for game protection and management on the continent.

Not since Peter Capstick's Africa has the author taken the reader along on safari. In this superbly illustrated book, Capstick returns to the veld with an ace video cameraman and leading African wildlife photographer Dr. M. Philip Kahl. one hundred of Dr. Kahl's striking color photos capture perfectly life and death in the "land of thirst."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although he had "culled" many elephants as a game officer in Zaire and elsewhere, safari leader Capstick ( Death in the Long Grass ) had never killed a tusker. Here he records his part in a legal hunt with a company licensed by the Namibian government to take 10 elephants annually in the northeastern region of the country, part of the northern Kalhari Desert, where some 1000 old bull elephants range, about a dozen dying of old age each year. The sparsely populated area is home to the Bushmen, one of the last hunter-gatherer tribes, whose way of life the author intended to film. Another aspect of the safari was Capstick's signed agreement to hunt "problem animals" to reduce predation by lions and leopards, and he was accompanied by a native guard to ensure that the meat went to natives. In his lively account of adventures amid stifling heat and dust, Capstick tells of encounters with poisonous snakes, of learning about poison arrows from Bushmen and of getting his elephant. He argues that Namibia's legal hunting is a desirable practice, benefiting local people and the national economy. Photos.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Unapologetic great white hunter (22 years in four countries), prolific author (nine books, many articles), editor (reprints of African hunting classics), and video producer, Capstick brings his considerable knowledge of Africa to this frank description of hunting in Bushland. In 1989 he spent six weeks in the northern Kalahari, home of the Ju/Wasi , in order to film and write about hunting for leopard and elephant. In a low-key account described with humor and sometimes exaggerated metaphors--but also with interesting historical notes and definite opinions about African game policy, ethnology, and politics--he vividly describes a modern safari and the various supporting characters vital to its success. He ranges from descriptions of the people of the Bush to the crisis in African elephant populations and the need (and advantages of) ethical big-game hunting. Photos not seen. For public libraries.
-Roland Person, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (October 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312064594
• ISBN-13: 978-0312064594
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Travel > Africa > Namibia

More About the Author

After leaving Wall Street, the New Jersey native hunted in Central and South America before going to Africa, where he held pro hunting licenses in Ethiopia, Zambia, Botswana, and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Capstick has also served in that most perilous of trades-- Elephant and Buffalo Cropping Officer.Peter Capstick has long made his home in Africa, the source of his inspiration.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sands of Silence, February 20, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Sands Of Silence: On Safari In Namibia (Hardcover)

Having read four Chapstick books and loving them (his other tiltes left me excited and wide-eyed) I wasn't overly impressed with Sands of Silence. Although the book is well written, includes quality photos, and some interesting infomation about Africa; I thought it lacked the excitement of Peters other excellent hunting tales. You could do worse than buy this book, but I would encouage you to pick another of Peter's titles.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A realistic view of a modern safari, February 28, 2007

By 

Utah Blaine (Somewhere on Trexalon in District 268) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sands Of Silence: On Safari In Namibia (Hardcover)

This book is a recounting of an elephant hunt that PHC took in the late 1980s. This edition is a nice hardback with lots of color photos. The DVD entitled Hunting the African Elephant with Peter Capstick could be considered a companion to this book (the safari described in this book was filmed - man of the scenes in the book are duplicated on film). The story covers PHCs tracking of various elephants, some of the daily ups and downs of camp life on safari, and a dramatic showdown at the end. There is a wealth of information in this book about a wide variety of topics beyond just hunting elephants. Capstick discusses the Bushmen of Southern Africa and how contact with modern society is dramatically changing thier culture, the poison used by the Bushmen on their arrows (it comes from grubs!), the dangers of the puff adder (what a nasty snake), the synergy between hunting and conservation, the effect that a .470 Nitro Express round has on a termite hill (!), and a bit about the anatomy of elephants. One of the less favorable reviews of this books states that it is less `exciting' than some of his earlier works. I would generally agree with this in the sense that this book is not filled with harrowing stories about hunting and safari that verge on tall-tales (although the first chapter about the leopard hunt is about as close as anyone is going to get and survive). It is a more measured, realistic recounting of a relatively modern safari. If you are looking for stories about dangerous encounters with big game, PHCs earlier works are probably more your cup of tea. If you want to know what it would be like to go on a modern safari without all the hyperbole associated with hunting dangerous game, this may be exactly what you are looking for. This is a good, if not uniquely outstanding, story of safari hunting.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Capstick's greatest books!, November 28, 2000

By 

Crystal P (LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sands Of Silence: On Safari In Namibia (Hardcover)

Once again, Peter Capstick has brought an African safari adventure into my home. This books is brillantly written as well as full of great color photos of the people of Nambia and some of the many animals of the wild. This is a must have for anyone who enjoys a great adventure!