Comments on: Great Men: Peter Hathaway Capstick, Hunter and Writer

By: luke in OZ

luke in OZ — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 09:54:02 +0000

Read Tom Sharpes
# Riotous Assembly (1971)
# Indecent Exposure (1973)
Next
Then read the rest of his books..

By: Brett J.

Brett J. — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 18:40:32 +0000

I didn’t feel qualified to comment on the movie since I was only able to tolerate the first half-hour. Thanks for confirming that it didn’t get any better.
Thanks also for the tips on Farwell and gutenberg.org.
For anyone planning to see the Tsavo lions in Chicago: don’t expect too much. The hides shrunk considerably between being killed and mounted, resulting in the specimens appearing MUCH smaller than they are in Patterson’s photos from 1898. Combine that with 100 years of wear upon somewhat primitive taxidermy technology, and it’s hard to imagine the cats being terrifying enough to halt the construction of a railroad. Having said that, go see them anyway for their fascinating history.

By: randy

randy — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 18:22:22 +0000

Thanks for making my amazon wish list longer.

By: Dexter

Dexter — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 18:00:16 +0000

I’ll second “Death in the Silent Places”. In additon to the Pretorius story, there are chapters on the legendary elephant hunter Karamojo Bell, who was one of the deadliest marksmen ever, and a re-telling of Patterson’s story of the Tsavo Lions.

If the Pretorius chapter gets you interested in the bizzare stories WWI in Africa, I suggest you try Byron Farwell’s history “The Great War In Africa”. There are parts that are positively surreal, such as cross-dressing commanding officers and battles fought while trying to fend off swarms of killer bees.

Patterson’s original “Man-Eaters of Tsavo” is available at gutenberg.org for free.

Do not see the movie Ghost and The Darkness. It is an abomination.

If you are ever in Chicago, the actual Tsavo Lions killed by Patterson are stuffed and mounted on display at the Field Museum.