Customer Reviews

White Hunters: The Golden Age of African Safaris

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First the negatives: basically, the list of white hunters comes at the reader in a blur of names and brief incidents, so that sometimes the reading takes on a repetitious feel. I found myself a bit overwhelmed at the onslaught of names and personalities, sometimes given no more than a few paragraphs of space. The information is arranged chronologically, beginning with the earliest white hunters like Cornwallis Harris and R.J. Cunninghame, and proceeds at a blistering pace through the 1970's, when Kenya outlawed all safari hunting. Brian Herne, the author, is a good writer, without being particularly inspired. If you are looking for the Peter Capstick (Death in the Long Grass) style of safari writing, you will not find it here. Herne is not the talented storyteller that Capstick is; yet Mr. Herne does have his own particular strengths. His style is very journalistic, in that he relays facts in blunt, swift manner. Take for Instance his concise description of White Hunter, Eric Rundgren's encounter with a charging buffalo: "During one pursuit a wounded buffalo charged, slammed hard in Rundgren, and tossed him over a riverbank. He landed in the gravel stream, but held on to his .450 double rifle. Above him on the bank was the buffalo looking down at him. Lying in the shallow river Rundgren shot the buff in the throat and it collapsed." End of incident. In a Capstick book, this mad charge by a buffalo would have taken a page or two, and by the end of it the reader himself would have felt covered in fear and sweat. Yet, despite the above, I heartily recommend this book for its many strengths: for one, Brian Herne has incredible credentials as a hunter, and one senses in his writing that they are being given the true deal. Maybe not as colorfully expressed as a Capstick, but frankly, more real. Also, there are many nuggets of breathtaking adventure that come jumping at the reader right through the factual prose of Mr. Herne. Nearly every hunter of any note is here, and the reader is given potraits of all the greats: Alan Black, Karamoja Bell, Bror Blizen, Charles Cottar, Bill Judd, and many, many others. Herne certainly can't be faulted for his completeness of the topic. What becomes clear when reading Mr. Herne's book is two facts. First, that big game hunting is an incredibly dangerous profession. It seems that nearly all the hunters were at some point gored or horribly mauled by big game, or suffered malaria, black-water fever, or one of the many diseases that float in the air in Africa. A fair number where killed outright, and these stories make the most gripping in the book, Two, conservation of big game was also an important role of these big game hunters. It was not the white hunters that decimated the rhino and elephant, but rather the various corrupt African governments themselves that allowed, and benefited greatly, from poaching. Herne makes a case for this in statistics that are irrefutable. By eliminating the safari hunters, the only group of individuals that had both the means and incentive to protect the region's wildlife for both personal and financial reasons, the corrupt government officials and poachers were free to roam, now hunting with AK-47 assault rifles and poisons. International prices for rhino horn and Ivory jumped up, as did the death toll for elephant and rhino. In short, this book is a great resource for the true story of white hunters. It includes a fabulous bibliography as well, for further reading.

This book will add to an understanding of the now vanished world of colonial East Africa. For those who are viscerally anti-hunting, this will be a book that will probably not be considered, and that is a pity, because it is about more than hunting -- though there's plenty enough to satisfy fans of Capstick, Hunter, et al. Mr. Herne's homage to a special breed of men (and women), white and black, is well written and ideal for leisurely reading and rereading. It is brimming with anecdotes both amusing and hair-raising. I've given my copy away and am now ordering another. White Hunters is a worthwhile addition to the library of the sportsman or the person interested in colonial Africa, from the late 19th century to independence. Whether relating stories of such early white hunter legends as Selous, Cunninghame and Black, or the role played by white hunters in the oft-mismatched British campaigns against German-led guerilla operations in WWI, or the horrors faced by white settlers during the Mau Mau troubles of the '50s, these tales never bog down. One of my favorite hunters, by the way, was "Shagbag" Collins. On a parallel note, I would recommend, The Life of My Choice by Sir Wilfred Thesiger and Home from the Hill by Hilary Hook, though I'm not sure of the current availability of either of these books.

I have always enjoyed reading about African hunting and looked forward to Hernes book. While it did deliver the information promised, I believe the book could have used a bit better editing. This is for a couple of different reasons. For one, Mr. Here identifies so many different hunters that it gets somewhat confusing keeping track of who did what. As noted by above reviewers, there are plenty of hair-raising anecdotes, and it is a quite thrilling book, but Mr. Herne just briefly touches on a few events of the lives of literally thousands of people that spent time hunting of working for hunters in Africa. It is sort of like a buffet where there are a multitude of courses, but you can only take a bit or two of each course. Secondly, Mr. Herne sometimes changes subjects, persons or topics, without notice. One paragraph you are reading about a particular hunter and another paragraph you read about some political aspects of hunting whose connection to the previous hunter is not always obvious. I think that a good editor, making a smoother transition between subjects, and perhaps eliminating a discussion of some briefly mentioned persons in order to focus a bit more on others who were more influential, could have made this good book even better. Those two criticisms aside, I really enjoyed the book. mr. Herne's recounting of life in pre-WWI east Africa was incredibly intriguing. His analysis of hunting's conservation effects make a powerful argument for the use of hunting as a game-management technique. All in all, I would heartily recommend this book to anyone desiring to learn about either the history of African history or arguments for hunting.

I loved this book and I've never even hunted in my life. It is a fascinating picture of a time which is now gone forever. It's not just a list of hunters and how many animals they killed, although that is a big part of it. There is also a lot of interesting background on the society of the East African colonies at that time. Ironically, after initial excessive hunting, it was the White Hunters who did most to protect the wildlife of East Africa.

I particularly appreciated the fact that the book's not only about white hunters, Brian also wrote about the Indian owned safari outfits who competed with and worked alongside white owned outfits.

After independence, rapacious governments made short work of what had been carefully nurtured wildlife populations. If you liked this book I'd also recommend "A Certain Curve of Horn: The Hundred Year Quest for the Giant Sable Antelope of Angola" and Martin Meredith's "The Fate of Africa".

My only complaints about this book are the paucity of photographs; I would have liked to see a lot more photographs. Secondly, this is a book almost specifically about East Africa, especially Kenya and Tanzania. Finally the photo of Brian Herne on the dust jacket must be about 30 years old!!!

Herne paints an exciting and descriptive picture the African hunt. Perhaps the characters that populate this era are indeed the most interesting subjects.

Whether the stories are read in sequence or individually, Herne's narration will take you to the high plains for a hunt of your own.

Brian Herne, a true member of the East African Hunting Community, is in the enviable position of being able to bring his readers an accurate, and in many cases a first-hand history of the Golden Age of Safari. If you are interested in African hunting, this book is a must for your library.

Herne does a masterful job of encapsulating so much information, excitement and adventure into so small a space. Well researched, well written and well worth adding to a collection of African hunting or general Africana. Herne writes from personal recollection, personal experience and personal connection. The last line of his dissertation on Bill Judd is unforgettable. Sure wish I had a chance to sit around a hunting camp campfire with a sundowner and listen to Herne reminisce.

The editorial review by Svenya Soldovieri bleeds through with the reviewers distaste for hunting and lack of understanding of conservation. Makes me wonder why Soldovieri wanted to review the book in the first place.

This reasonably price book by Brian Herne about African hunting adventures is very interesting reading. The book is an excellent casual read because it is laid out in chapters which are independent of each other; the advantage being that one can pick up the book, open it to any chapter and read an action packed adventure without having to read previous chapters.

The conclusion to the book is a rebuff to anti-hunters. Big game decimation is not caused by hunting,but by destruction, poaching, civil war and human population explosion.

A GOOD BOOK!!

This book is a truly magnificent bit of history. The dangers of Africa from the viewpoint of people who were there... back in the days before emergency rescue services existed.

This is a must read for any Africa buff or history buff.

This book is one of those that inspired me to write the book, rexGun by Stephen Templar Rexgun.

White Hunters is an engaging and interesting read for anyone interested in the history of the safari trade. From cover to cover Brian Herne has assembled tales that enlighten the reader on subjects ranging from the colorful characters of a bygone era to wildlife lore and insights into the life of the African tribesmen.

With original photos and stories of such notable characters as Bror and Karen Blixen and Denys Finch Hatton who's lives were portrayed in the Hollywood film 'Out of Africa'. To Carr Hartley who was dubbed by the American press as "The Toughest Man in the World" and whose career influenced the production of the Hollywood movie 'Hatari' starring John Wayne and Red Buttons. This book is jam-packed with true-life action and adventure.

Along with many other resources I used White Hunters as a research tool while writing Ivory Hunter. It was this book that prompted me to use Nandi tribesmen as trackers in the story in preference to the much more well known Masai.

Although many of the stories and descriptions are a bit brief, White Hunters is an entertaining and informative read for anyone interested in Africa and particularly in African hunting.