Warrior: The Legend of Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen

Rating:
Summary: A remarkable man's adventure's but poorly written
Review: Capstick's writing style has a tendency to leap forward a lot and he tosses in personal comments about his wife and his own thoughts. I feel this would throw off a novice reader. However, the story of Richard Meinertzhagen is incredible, a true Victorian son, with a life that was filled with danger, travel, big game hunting, perilous adventures we can only dream of and meetings with some of the most influential men in the 20th century. I would have given the book another star, but the writing was haphazard. Meinertzhagen, a service British officers, fought in Africa against the only German general who wasn't defeated, Lettow-Vorbeck. He escaped death on countless occasions, brutally killing many times, with pistol, rifle, bayonet and knobkerrie war club. He served in the Arabian area under Allenby, using his intelligence gathering skills to great advantage for the allies. He survived a ship being torpedoed off the coast of Italy in 1917, over Palistine, his two man plane was shot to pieces by a German fighter, wounding the pilot. Meinertzhagen managed to land the plane and walk from it. He outwitted German intelligence officers on many occasions, once dropping opium laced cigarettes over Turkish lines, the trick worked and when a major British offense began, many Turks were unable to stand or talk. He was an avid Zionist and befreinded T E Lawrence as they struggled to help the Israeli state develope. He debated the Zionist movement with Churchill and lobbied at the Peace treaties in Paris. He was almost killed on the very last day of the war. In the 1930's, after much travel, he met with Ribbontrop and Hitler. On the third visit, Meinertzhagen pocketed a revolver and could have easily used it on Hitler, altering history to no end. When he first met Hitler in Berlin, Hitler greeted him with "Heil Hitler." Not hear of this infamous cry, Meinertzhagen replied "Heil Meinertzhagen". No one was amused in Hitler's chambers. An interesting book to read nonetheless, aside from the late author's flash forward dialogs and comments. A truly unique and interesting man.

Rating:
Summary: For Big Game Hunters, not Meinertzhagen enthusiasts
Review: I stumbled upon this book over Thanksgiving, and thought I would give it a try. I have a great deal of interest in the Expeditionary Forces that left from India during WWI, so I thought this would be a welcome addition towards my understanding of operations in British East Africa. Well to sum it up, it wasnt really. This book is a very superficial biography of Meinertzhagen, using suprisingly very few sources. As noted by earlier reviewers, the book is consistently broken up by narratives of the author's own experiences, which may or may not have anything to do with the story at hand. If you are looking for a serious biography of Meinertzhagen, this is not for you. If you are looking for a light read with no particular substance, this is it.

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the Worst Biography I've Ever Read
Review: Unfortunately, this is one of the most poorly written and edited non-fiction books I have ever read. I say unfortunately, because the subject of this book is first rate biography fodder, having been deeply involved in British colonial wars of East Africa, leading commando actions against the Germans during WWI in East Africa and the Middle East, and working as an OSS agent in WWII--as well as being a hunter of epic proportions and something of an ornithologist.

Capstick chooses to concentrate on the "legend," eschewing any research, preferring to simply cite from Meinertzhagn's own diaries at length rather then take the time to provide any corroborating documentations. This is a shame since it is left to to the reader to decide what part of the tale is true and what is not--no small task given that Meinertzhagen destroyed a large portion of his diaries in 1942, which raises the possibility of revisionism on his part in the later years of his life. Not to mention the remarks in his diaries regarding T.E. Lawrence which have been ably refuted by historians, nor the recent news that at least one of his major ornithological "discoveries" was in fact a fraud on his part.

Capstick clearly was unable to organize information in any sensible manner, and his editor (if there actually was any), certainly didn't bother to help. For example, tacked onto the end of a lengthy paragraph about Meinertzhagen's dislike for other races is the only mention of his first marriage!

No, instead Capstick presents a rambling accounting the juiciest of events from the diaries, detracting from these by interjecting his own barely coherent diatribes against "greens" as well as numerous instances of the "I know just how Dick felt, I too..." variety. Clearly Capstick has an almost hero-worship of his subject, and thus totally waffles around Meinertzhagen's clearly racist views and blood lust. On page 220 he states as much: "This complex man's psychological makeup is not the point of this book. His glorious adventures and cunning bravery are." This is all well and fine except that his subject's "adventures" including loads of killing, including an Indian for mishandling his horse.

Meinertzhagen's life was certainly fascinating, but I'd suggest waiting to read about it in a competently researched and written biography, not in this homage.