Customer Reviews

The Winds of Havoc: A Memoir of Adventure and Destruction in Deepest Africa

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If there is a single book that informs and clarifies issues pertaining to Africa, from European colonization to the new millennium, this is the one. I am a seasoned collector of books on Africa. Nothing on my shelves, however, can compare with The Winds of Havoc. Adelino SERRAS PIRES and Fiona CAPSTICK have an intimate knowledge of Africa and I personally know many of the people mentioned in this book. I also had the honor of working with Adelino in Africa in the 1980s. This book confirms the courage and honesty he has retained throughout his turbulent life, qualities he never abandoned when many other people would have been tempted to give in to their tormentors. There are shocking revelations in this book as the reader is taken on a unique odyssey into many African countries, witnessing the fate of the wildlife as the winds of change became gales of violence which spared nothing and nobody. The book is an education. Adelino's extraordinary life and Fiona Capstick's ability with words make this book a compelling, disturbing experience. Buy it before the first printing sells out!

The Winds of Havoc is much more than an adventure or hunting novel. I want to congratulate the authors Fiona and Adelino on a very special, genuine and valuable contribution to the modern history of Mozambique, and also of post-colonial Africa generally. From my experience as a scholar of contemporary Mozambican affairs, as an active participant in the Mozambique peace process 1989-1995, and as Special Advisor to the then Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN, Mr Aldo Ajello, I can recommend this book as essential reading. But most of all, it reads easily and really well. It takes you on a journey of adventure and passion and tragedy, and I found it impossible to put it down before I had come to the last page.

I am black and I am angry. I live in Africa, The Winds of Havoc has been a revelation because finally, the lies that went with the turf of our liberation are beginning to be exposed. This book is a good start, I salute you Adelino Serras Pires

A riveting tale of bloodshed, conspiracy and the ultimate betrayal spanning over the entire african continent. "The Winds of Havoc" inspires an interesting read. A literary masterpiece of ambiguity. This book opens a doorway onto unspoken corruption in a lawless land. It will indeed inspire a mind to seek the truth.

Fiona and Adelina have hit a bases loaded home run! Adelino, I am so sorry that humanity can treat others so badly. Your days incarcerated, cold, hungry and with your hands and feet hurting so bad, brought tears to my eyes. What a horrible injustice.

If you do not know anything about East African history, particularly Mozambique, this book will show the "Havoc" that occured at this time in Africa between two factions.

This is a book makes you get a map out to see where these stories take place. You find that you want to read over at least once again.

Art Gonzalez

I have read many books on old Africa and modern Africa, both fact and fiction and embellished facts. And I have been to Africa several times. This has got to be the best book I have ever read concerning the real Africa. It is not just a book on safari hunting but a book about Africa. This book tells it like it really is. It should be required reading in any foreign history and especially African history class. Adelino is truly a remarkable man and a good man. It is great to read a book on Africa that is not condescending or racist and shows respect and admiration for local "bush Africans". He absolutely loves hunting and Africa, but went through hell while in Africa. This book may change your romantic notions of Africa. But with all the absolutely horrible things that have gone on in Africa, Africa is still a beautiful continent with beautiful people. Read this book and learn. This book should open alot of eyes. Enjoy. What an incredible adventure!

When I started reading The Winds of Havoc,I had the impression the book would be the memories of a gone by lifestyle, and quite frankly I was repulsed by how important the big game hunting business seemed like. Not until I reached the last quarter of the book did I realize the value of the author's memories in providiing a picture of a productive and peaceful "colonial" lifestyle and comparing it to the present state of Mozambique's existence. Clearly, African politics have changed for the worst over the last half of the 20th century. For all that was wrong about colonialism, the "indiginization" of most African countries has been a failure that will hurt Africa and the rest of the world for most of the 21st century. The fate of the African wildlife is an accurate indicator of the evolution of Mozambiquean politics. Mozambique will go as the wildlife goes.

When none other than the renowned Professor George Ayittey of the American University in Washington DC endorses this book, you know you are in for an interesting experience. The Winds of Havoc is an education, a searing personal story set in Mozambique between the years 1936 - 2000 against a backdrop of wildlife and hunting. It is told with humor, compassion and stark truth as the reader enters the killing fields of guerrilla warfare and witnesses the unravelling of a whole way of life. This book should be required reading for anyone with an interest in Africa's wildlife and in contemporary African affairs. It is not a pretty story. It is unforgettable. Read it while stocks last!

This is a great book. I have a small collection of books on big game hunting/Africa and this is one of my favorites. The only book that I have read the was better was Tigrero by Sasha Siemel. If you want a book that is only about hunting, this is not your book. This is a book about a hunter, dealing mostly with his life and the way he made his living. It is not story after story about lion or elephant hunts. It does give a great look into how professional hunting was during the authors life. It is well written and very easy to read. If you enjoy books on Africa and big game hunting, this book is a must have!

This is a good quality 265-page b&w hard cover with durable dust jacket and 30 b&w photographs centrally bound in a bundle. The font and spacing as well as the matt paper makes for easy reading in most light conditions.

The book covers the fascinating life of Adelino Serras Pires, a Portuguese professional hunter who grew up in Mozambique and who was tragically displaced from one African country after the other as the Winds of Havoc swept through Africa during the 70s, 80s and the early 90s. It is a true personal account of the horrors, the cruelty, the deceit and the tragedy of the so-called African liberation and the dark pit of misery Africa has become. Pires once co-owned Safrique, the largest Safari company in the world at the time. As a victim of the period the author had been dragged deeply into the turmoil and the action of the era and he had to swim or sink. One the one hand it is a story of spies and lies, of capture, kidnapping and torture, creation and destruction, but on the other hand it is a story of love, dedication, courage, high adventure, and great fun in the typical setting of the African bush as experienced by one of the most successful professional hunters of our time; a man who built empires and lost them time and time again as Africa took its revenge on the white man.

Mr Pires' life story is expertly told by a tremendous wordsmith in the form of Fiona Capstick, widow of another great safari writer, the late Peter Hathaway Capstick. This book is as much about Africa as it is about hunting, as much about the nature of the African politician as it is about the courage of their victims.

It is an extremely enjoyable and informative book.