Customer Reviews

Where Lions Roar: Ten more years of African Hunting

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mr Boddington provides his usual, perhaps best, story telling. The volume is a must read for anyone contemplating an African hunt; or those who enjoy well written, honestly portrayed hunting stories.

The volume reviews Africa by country or geographic areas (i.e. the Rift Valley) covering many of the most popular/accessible countries and species.

Boddington provides useful tips on travel, visas, restrictions, licensing, weather, packing/gear, firearms/calibers and bullets/loads in an honest straight forward style (one of the few writers, who admits actually having made a less than desirable shot/decisions in the field). And in each case he explains the value of the lesson learned.

An excellent read.

Gaining a grasp on the hunting areas in Africa and what they have to offer is difficult(What can I hunt in Namibia, which country has the best leopard, ect.). This book, although not ment as a guide, presents the reader with a good idea of what can be found and where.
This book is one one of only a two hunting titles that I find myself pulling off the shelf to reread on a regular basis.
The only item I found lacking was the fact that Mr. Boddington gave the names for the areas hunted but for the most part failed to mention in which country the area in question can be found.

Author goes to something like 9 different countries to hunt big-game. Gives goo narrative on the hunts as wellas ideas and tips on what to do and expect. Could be a bit more descriptive here and there is the only fault I can find.

I enjoyed this book, but I guess I'm spoiled by Peter Capstick's series of African hunting books. Craig's persona is more informative than entertaining; by that I mean that he has a more detached writing style and does not draw the reader in or paint the picture with words as did Peter Capstick.

Just the same, maybe because an African hunt is something I've dreamed of for years, I still enjoyed the book.

This is a very good book on the condition of safari hunting up to 1997. After reading his book, the phrase "prolific modern day hunter" comes to mind when reflecting on Boddington's extraordinary base of outdoor experience. He basically traverses the African continent from Namibia to Ethiopia and his list of trophies covers all of the Big Five animals. He also collects an impressive bag of area specific game such as the Forest Bongo, Kudu and Lord Derby Eland found in equatorial Africa In our generation, Boddington has to be considered one of the few hunters who, like his counterparts of the past, has managed to make a respectable living from his rifles and pen. The one drawback regarding this book is that it tends to age rapidly making it useful as a reference guide only during the years surrounding the publication date. To his credit, Boddington makes an effort to predict which countries will be favorable in the future and I can think of no better source to give such advise. This single point aside, Where Lions Roar will always be an excellent piece of reading material that accurately describes the safari scene in a wide range of locations.

Craig Boddington once again places me on the African Continent where wild and wonderful moments captivate me from one paragraph to the next. Just like the rest of us with our hunting adventures not all the game that Craig shoots is record class or even needs to be. This book is about what hunting is supposed to be, and when an animal gets up and runs away...it about what we do in life to go forward...and follow through. This book is about adventure, and wild places like no other. The only thing better than this would be to cash in your 401K...and see for yourself what Craig so wonderfully describes "Where Lions Roar'!

"Where Lions Roar" is a good read, but it isn't one of Craig Boddington's best efforts. The book lacks a consistent tone. Some of the chapters read like a personal hunting journal, some like an interoffice memo, and some are classic safari tales. Too many chapters are consumed with personal minutiae about why he was on the safari, what article he was working on, who was there, and how everyone knew each other. The most revealing admission is the number of times pre-production ammo samples failed in the field. The hunting stories end abruptly for an appendix about planning a safari. I enjoyed the book, but there are better safari books out there.

Boddington is at his best with details on rifles calibers and actions. This book is at best an account of Boddingtons adventures which are neither educational or informative. Too matter of factly written with no style. If you're used to Capstick's wit this book will dissapoint you.