Death in the Dark Continent

Death in the Dark Continent
by Peter H. Capstick

Death in the Dark Continent
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Book Summary Information

Author: Peter H. Capstick
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1983-05-15
ISBN: 0312186150
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
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Book Reviews of Death in the Dark Continent

Book Review: Tales about the dangers of hunting the Big Five in Africa
Summary: 4 Stars

Originally published in 1983, this book describes big game hunting in Africa. After a brief introduction, each subsequent chapter contains details and anecdotes about hunting each of the Big Five game animals of Africa (Cape Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant, Leopard, and Lion). In particular, this book is largely about the dangers of hunting each of the Big Five. All I can say is that being a safari guide/hunter must be an incredible life. I purchased this after reading Hemingway's `Green Hills of Africa' and Robert Ruark's `Robert Ruark's Africa' and was not disappointed. There isn't really a single narrative through this book, it is written in a more of a conversational style, almost as if you are sitting with Capstick in camp in the evening after a day of hunting and he is recounting various tales, `urban legands', and historical anecdotes about hunting each of the big five over a Scotch whiskey. If you don't know who he was, Peter Capstick was a hunter, guide, and prolific author who passed away in 1996. Capstick writes about a much later era than Ruark or Hemingway, things have clearly changed. There are more people about (farming, grazing animals, etc.), and the game is heavily controlled by the national authorities. Overall this is a very good, if not uniquely outstanding, read. Capstick writes with an easy prose, and the pages just sail by. After working through this book, you're quite likely to get the urge to pack up a few of your shootin' irons and buy an airline ticket to Nairobi (I know I did!). I give it only four stars though as much of the ground covered by Capstick has been well tread by others (e.g. everyone seems to feel the need to give their opinion about which of the big five is the most dangerous). I also liked Ruark's writing style more, and there was something more romantic and dangerous about safari hunting in Ruark's era (this is no fault of PC though) - they really were out in Indian territory. The more modern safari isn't quite so wild. In any case, if you love the outdoors, hunting, and testing your mettle against some of the world most dangerous game (or at least reading about it!), I would highly recommend this book. A little different than hunting white-tailed deer!

Summary of Death in the Dark Continent

Critically acclaimed as a master of adventure writing for Death in the Long Grass and Death in the Silent Places, former professional hunter Peter Capstick takes us back to Africa to encounter the world's most dangerous big-game animals. After consulting African game experts and recalling his own experiences and those of his colleagues, Capstick has written chilling, authoritative accounts of hunting the five most dangerous killers on the African continent-- lion, leopard, elephant, Cape buffalo and rhinoceros.

The classic big-game animals are unmatched as a test of a hunter's skill and courage. With a command of exciting prose, Capstick brings us along on the chase. The warning snarl of a crouching lion, the swish of grass that reveals a leopard, the enraged scream of a wounded elephant, the cloud of dust that marks a herd of Cape buffalo, the earthshaking charge of a rhino are recreated in heart-stopping, nerve-racking detail. In Death in the Dark Continent, Capstick brings to life all the suspense, fear and exhilaration of stalking ferocious killers under primitive, savage conditions, with the ever present threat of death.

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