Death In The Long Grass

Rating:
Summary: A "must read" for the outdoorsman.
Review: Peter Hathaway Capstick ranks among the finest story tellers in the world today. His tales of hunting dangerous African game in "Death in the Long Grass" is riveting. His anecdotes portray in vivid detail the danger, fear, and humor in hunting big game in the African bush. Read this book and you will never look at a leopard the same again, or any other big game species in Africa for that matter. Capstick's respect for the animals he hunted and for the African people is quite apparent. "Bravo old boy!"

Rating:
Summary: Cracking Yarns
Review: As always Capstick strikes again. This is one of his better works ( not to say that any of his writings are poor) and it is an entertaining read.

As a preliminary point , Gentle Reader, do not out expect to put this one down and go "wow- my life has been changed forever!"- its not that sort of book. However, if you want pulse racing, page turning excitment about exotic places and animals, then you have come to the right place. This book alone will have you surfing the web looking for a guide, and pricing a .375 Holland and Holland for your own safari.

The book is divided into a chapter on each of the various nasties in Africa that want to eat you, or at least do serious harm to you- elephant, cape buffalo, rhino and of course lion. In each one he normally relates a story of some poor person getting munched on by one, and the cavalry ( usually capstick and his trusty spear tracker "Silent") coming to the rescue. This is always mixed in with plenty of other stories and information about the animal of choice. This may all seem a bit repetative, but Capsticks fantastic flair for writing, and lively and amusing prose make this anything but dull. For example, in the opening chapter he describes that if the word got out on just how many people get eaten by lions in Africa it would be as "popular as a social disease in a bible school".

You get the idea.

Armchair adventurers, hunters, and those wanting a good yarn- this is for you. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Corbett
Review: The book is ok but really not worth its price. It has short stories which get boring after a while. I found Jim Corbett's stories far more interesting and fun to read. But overall this book does give some insight into african wild life. I think the author is very arrogant and pompous. He has no concern for the native people. He is a complete contrast of Jim Corbett.

Rating:
Summary: Good quick read
Review: I enjoyed it - - the great thing is that each of the chapters can be read in about half an hour - - about my limit before falling asleep each night. The tales of lions and their power is truly remarkable. Mr. Capstick is a great story teller, and his stories are interesting enough and although gory, clean enough, for thrill-seeking readers of all ages. It's also interesting to hear the perspective of someone who believes in conservation yet rejects categorically the view about hunting and animal preservation that we see every night on animal shows on TV. It's thought provoking and makes me think that someday I might look nice in a leopard skin coat . . . (or not)

On the downside, Mr. Capstick's humor wears a bit thin sometimes, and for that I dock him at least half a star. And the book is a bit pricey for what you get. I enjoyed what I have read of Jim Corbett more than Mr. Capstick's book.

Rating:
Summary: A Million Ways to Die in Africa
Review: This book is nearly 300 pages long, but I finished it in an evening of reading, and when I did, I wished there had been another 300 pages to go. "Death in the Long Grass" is about the author's (Peter Hathaway Capstick) experience as a white hunter in Africa, and his close encounters with the various creatures there that either wanted to eat, trample, gore, or bite him and his associates.

This is not an informational guide about either hunting or Africa. The book's sole intent is to capture your attention with fascinating, hair-raising stories of Capstick's own close calls with the wildlife of Africa as well as his recounting of some other tales where the wildlife got the best of man.

The stories are utterly captivating. They would be interesting to read no matter who was telling them. But Capstick knows how to write by weaving his own interesting experiences in with other tales he has either heard or read about. He also has a wicked, morbid sense of humor that fits well with the subject matter of the book.

Rating:
Summary: A superb, riveting account of Peter's life.
Review: In my opinion, this is the best book ever written. Peter has a talent that I have never seen or experienced with any other writer. He gives vivid, harrowing accounts of the Big Five, as well as hippo, crocs, snakes, and less known forms of death. This is a must read for anyone remotely interested in Africa, animals, or hunting. Peter Hathaway Capstick is a true master of his game. Some of Peter's tales would put Stephen King to shame, but these are more frightening because they are true. You are cheating yourself out of a treat if this book isn't high on your "To Read...." list.

Rating:
Summary: READ CAPSTICK!!
Review: There are adventure stories written by writers who were occasional adventurers (Conrad, Ruark, Hemingway), and there are adventure stories written by those who were only writers (Orwell, a million others,) and then there are a tiny number of adventure stories written by professional adventurers who also *luckily* happen to be brilliant writers. Peter Hathaway Capstick is the chief of this tribe, which includes John Taylor and a couple of others. This is a general review of all his writing, and so I won't get too specific, but it isn't a stretch at all to say that this is the finest, most exciting, most frightening, most eloquent writing ever done on the hunting experience, on hunting in Africa, and perhaps on what happens at that moment when man "goes back on the menu" after being off of it for a measley thousand years or so.

Capstick was a stock broker turned hunting organizer turned (through a curcuitous route) to being a PH or professional hunter in Africa, and then had the skill and the will to set it all down. I have never had more riveting reading experiences than when he tells of having to shoot a big bull elephant (driven mad drunk after eating morula fruit) in bush so thick that he was actually 5 feet from the elephant before he saw it. Or of his friend Corporal Katwindi, the African tribesman who was killed trying to save his life. Or of stalking a black mamba that had killed a boy. This particular story includes the three most chilling words I've read in a long time: as he comes around a bend in the river bank, he sees the dead child (bitten on the lower lip) horribly swollen and disfigured, his face contorted in agony from the mamba bite. "Oh my, yes." Capstick says, and nothing else need be said. He was there, at that point where the line between life and death gets so horribly thin and transparent, and he's able to come back from it and tell it to you so that you feel the same goose flesh he felt, the same clutching fear, the same doubt about your courage, the same desire to run screaming back to your office job.

You'll laugh, too. "There may be something more exciting than lion hunting, but I don't have her phone number any more." Or the story of the African camp steward who had slavishly dedicated himself to learning English to impress the clients, (by overhearing phrases and memorizing their meanings) and while wearing a crisp starched uniform, snaps to a British salute in front of the distinguished safari couple and tells the lady "Tea is ready, darling." His ability to find, and bring back, wonderful humor from gruelling experiences, like when his skin basically rotted off his feet during the rainy season, will not soon be forgotten.

One of the most memorable aspects of his writing is his deep respect and affection for the African natives that he admired so much, and the few that he was proud to call his friends. He is quick to point out that any perceived inadequacies on their part are strictly cultural, not racial, and he was in awe of their abilities in their world. One old man could not, for the life of him, to save his soul, be taught how to flick a disposable cigarette lighter so that it would light. The little thumb roll that we do without thinking completely evaded him. His hands just wouldn't do it, couldn't do it. So he stuck it in his ear hole. This same man could smell elephants miles away and could track game over bare rock, could look at a broken leaf and tell what animal did it and when, leaving Capstick in awe. As impossible as the lighter was to him, this incredible oneness with the natural world was ultimately impossible for Capstick, and for us all.

That's enough for now. If you are reading this review, you probably already have one or more of PHC's books. But if, on the off chance, you don't, then do yourself a favor and get as many as you can, and I dare you to try to put them down. They are that good. Better literature than Hemingway? Probably not. Probably not as profound as Ruark. But he has them all trumped when your knuckles are white with fear, and beads of sweat pop out on your brow, and you try to remember...did I chamber one, or not? And there's a soft crunch in the leaves ahead, and then we're back to what is most elemental: predator and prey, and which of us is which is entirely up for grabs.

Thanks, Peter. Gone but not forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: A TIMELESS CLASSIC
Review: This was about my sixth or seventh reading of this Capstick classic and I believe I enjoyed it even more than the last. As a hunter I enjoy reading the works of those with the ability to portray on paper the true happenings and emotions of the hunter and his prey. It is unfortunate that Capstick and others like Hemingway and Ruark have passed on but all is not lost because there is another author who is carrying on their tradition of enlightening while entertaining the hunters of today. His name is Thomas McIntyre and his latest book, "SEASONS & DAYS - A HUNTING LIFE" follows in the footsteps of these great authors before him. He is truly one of the finest storytellers of our time. He is the hunter's hunter.

Rating:
Summary: The Last Master of Safari Writing?
Review: At a time, long after the deaths of Hemingway and Ruark, when many thought popular, literate writing about the African safari was also dead, Peter Hathaway Capstick came along and virtually single-handed revived an entire genre with his "Death in the Long Grass." Now Capstick is gone, too, and who can replace him? Perhaps Thomas McIntyre, whose newest book is "Seasons & Days: A Hunting Life."

Rating:
Summary: Classic Africana!
Review: When doing research into big game hunting in Africa, I came across this book. It was so riveting I read it in one sitting. Capstick is an excellent adventure writer. His writing is incredibly vivid.

The book is broken up into chapters focusing on the dangerous game in Africa - the Big Five plus others. Tales of Capstick's own adventures and those of other white hunters and their clients are retold with verve. His chapters on lions, elephants, and hippos are the best.

I highly recommend this book and his Return to the Long Grass.