Customer Reviews

The Temple Tiger and More Man-Eaters of Kumaon (Oxford India Paperbacks)

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4 star:		(1)
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Jim Corbett has the unique distinction of having lived a very interesting life and having the desire to tell the world about it. We are fortunate he did. There are several stories in this book about his hunts of mean eating tigers and leopards. Each story will keep you on the edge of your seat. The nice thing is that not all the stories end the way you expect, which is one of the reasons I like Jim Corbett so much. The book is great. Go get it. Read it. Make a donation to the Save A Tiger foundation.

Jim Corbett once again takes us back to the rural Indian mountainsides in search of man-eating tigers. In this installment, he serves up a fresh smorgasbord of human victims. His stories all carry the same theme. Remote villages are being torn to threads by big cats that have taken a liking to human flesh. He is the world-renowned hunter with nerves of steel that must come to the rescue.

Corbett has a particular style that just makes for good reading. He's not as suspenseful as someone like Capstick but still keeps the pages turning at a blur. I think his secret is that he is so in tune with his surroundings and his adversary. He is able to paint a picture of exactly what he is thinking; and better yet... what the big cats are thinking. He gives a completely objective view of the animals' behavior and reasons for killing rather than to make them out as some kind of evil hell-spawn. He also thoroughly explains the native people's superstitions regarding these cats and the obstacles he has to overcome just to help them in spite of themselves.

His books are the stuff of legends. They are best served over a glowing campfire and a MUST for hunters and adventure readers alike. A+

Known locally in India as "Carpet Sahib", a mispronunciation of his name, Colonel Jim Corbett was called upon time and time again to rid the hills of Kumaon of man eating Tigers and Leopards. This book is one of his many spine thrilling depictions of his hunting adventures with maneaters in India. I've read this and his other books many times..and I still read them when I have time....

I recommend this book without any reservations....and his other books...also... If you find maneater stories interesting...I recommend you read the books of Kenneth Anderson..which are as good as Jim Corbett's if not better.....

Once again in this book Jim Corbett has proved it, he was a awesome incredible gentleman. I have never seen anyone who could write like him. Amazing man with amazing courage. His modesty is revealed throughout his book. He goes through so much suffering and pain, but never once writes about it. From his book you can feel how much concern he had for people. People trusted him with with their lives. His book teaches us a lot about jungles. I would recommend this to anyone who likes animals. Once again Jim Corbett you were and still are the best writes of adventures.

This is not Jurasic Park, though at the rate deforestation is going, it may soon be. Jim Corbett's experiences are a great read for people of all ages. I read this book as a kid and now am reading it again. Each time it takes me back to when I visited several national parks in India and elsewhere in the world.

This book not only takes you into the dark damp forests of India it takes you into Jim Corbett's world, a world of hunting, adventure, and most of all maneaters. Jim Corbett will electrify you with his chilling tales of hunting maneaters.This is a must read if you love hunting , adventure, and the hunting of maneaters, like me.

This is an amazing book to read of the adventures of Jim Corbett. The book was a real treat as I belong to the same nick of the woods where Mr, Corbett hunted the maneaters. Words and phrases and the description of the jungle in the book is the replica of what I have experienced in my childhood days spent in Kumaon and had few experiences with leopards dragging few of my own dogs away from the verandah in the dark nights. The only surprise was that a century ago there were so many tigers in that region (high altitude) as now they are very hard to find in the upper himalayas as the big cat has no hunting grounds or shelter due to deforestation. And another reason why there are no tigers in the high altitude areas of Kumaon is as the animal to too big and heavy to big to hunt in the terrain. The only way they can enter from terrai (foot hills) is through the river banks as did another the one that became a threat to the people of Champawat and Jamanpani and for the other villages where people could not even go to Tanakpur to get food and ration, until Bruce Abott (British) shot it down (story narrated by my dad as he was a youngster. My grand dad was a priest in that region when this maneater had terrorized the region was on the way to Bariely for the Church Conference when with him and other men volumes of villagers had gone to Tanakpur to get ration as he and other men had guns. This book really describes the nature of the hills, its wild life and the simplicity of the people to the core and is a "must read stuff".

Any book by Jim Corbett is an interesting read. Although, nowadays, big game hunting is a thing of the past (I reckon), yet it is through the eyes of the author that the reader can seamlessly go back to the times when it was not so.

The stories are beautifully detailed in their descriptions of the expeditions, the customs of the hill folks, their traditions, courage, and (some interesting) superstitions. More often than not while reading the book, I have wondered whether whether I would know what happens in the end because of some absolutely incredible situations and circumstances described.

This is typical of Jim Corbett's other works about hunting man-eaters. There's enough suspense to suit anyone. It is told with a matter of fact approach, nothing sensational but still exciting. It's easy to read and unfamiliar names are usually explained, though it seems a bit choppy and hampered by over-use of commas. Detail is sparse. Avid shooters might want a bit more commentary on the weapons employed since these antiques are presumably unfamiliar to most modern hunters.

I first read this book just after it was first published some 50 years ago. It was, I recall, a pleasure to read then and doubly so to re-read the account of Corbett's adventures again today. Jim Corbett's somewhat matter-of fact, understated style is a delight to read and his simple yet vivid descriptions of the Indian locale and the people, who play a part in his story are those of a man that loves and deeply understands this land and its people. Corbett is no wanton destroyer of wildlife but a protector of impoverished and often terrified communities who understands and explains with sympathy, why the prey he hunted were forced to become what they were.