Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9780195627626
ISBN number: 0195627628
Label: OUP India
Manufacturer: OUP India
Page Count: 606
Printing Date: August 29, 1991
Publishing house: OUP India
Sale Popularity Level: 254559
Studio: OUP India
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Product Description:
Man-Eaters of Kumaon, The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag, and The Temple Tiger and More Man-Eaters of Kumaon, the three classic collections of Corbett's hunting stories, which vividly bring to life the drama and beauty of the jungle and its wildlife are here brought together in a single volume for the very first time.
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Rated by buyers -
I've been reading--and rereading--Corbett for more years than I can remember. They not only tell the tales of his hunting man-eating tigers and leopards but tell of his wonderful love of nature, the land and the simple hill people of India. His descriptions and attention to detail are remarkable. You can practically smell the Himalayan foothills that he loved so much.
Corbett, although "just" a public servant had an unusual combination of talents and virtues. His woodcraft was exceptional; his stamina phenomenal; his courage phenomenal; and his talent as a writer...unique. Corbett puts the reader in his own skin as he tracks beasts that would like nothing better than to sink their teeth in his throat. The reader is actually present as Corbett comes on the scene of a recent tiger kill as evidenced by the single shapely leg of a young woman. You feel his terror as a man-eating leopard, in the dead of night, rejects his goat bait and tries to rip Corbett from his machan high in a tree.
You suffer with Corbett as he tries to maintain his lonely all-night vigil over a tiger-killed buffalo as malaria shakes his body apart and you rejoice with him as he fights the mighty mahseer from pool to pool in the icy waters of the Himalayas. You weep with Corbett as poor, frightened people thank him for ridding them of beasts that have destroyed lives and the economies of entire regions.
At the same time you get to know Corbett the field biologist and nature lover. He bore no animosity for the man-eaters he hunted to death. He entirely recognized that they were a part of nature whose only "crime" was to develop a taste for the "wrong" kind of food. He speaks of the nobility of the tiger, the sinuous beauty of the leopard and bemoans the fact that these creatures were gradually being eradicated. Nevertheless he takes justifiable pride in saving the lives of so many people and is grieved that he couldn't have saved many more.
Some people have questioned as to whether Corbett did all these things or whether, like Capstick, he was simply a gifted writer. I can't confirm the authenticity of all the stories but, all I can say, is that the government of India--that has no particular love for British colonialism--chose to honor this particular Englishman by naming a national park--a park containing many tigers and leopards--in his honor.
Ron Braithwaite, author of Mexican Conquest novels, "Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"
Rated by buyers -
When I was l5 years old, my mother brought the book home for me from
the library. I enjoyed it then. Throughout the years I have been looking
for it but could not locate it in libraries oe stores. I'm looking forward
to reading it again. By the way I'm now past the age of 75 years.
Rated by buyers -
I have read all three of the books included in this omnibus many times over the space of thirty years. Each is a superb read filled with suspense, observations on nature, and a genuine respect for India and it's people. These are not books about hunting for the sake of senseless slaughter. While Corbett vividly communicates a sense of suspense and excitement he continually returns to the theme of sympathy for the plight of the impoverished villagers who are terrorized by the man-eaters he hunts. There is no macho posturing in Corbett's accounts, there is heartfelt regret each time he pulls the trigger to end the rampage of another killer.
Rated by buyers -
I have been an avid reader of Jim Corbett for the past decade. Though he hasn't authored as many books so as to demand a decade, his story-telling is exquisite and therefore begs you to pick up his memoirs again and again. What were previously an assortment of separate short stories have now been compiled into this grand collection.
Armed with but a rifle, Corbett narrates in intricate detail how he managed to hunt down some of the deadliest man-eaters, deep in the northern jungles of pre-independent India. As much as it is a classic, one needs to remember that the events described herein, actually occurred! The narration seamlessly alternates between the romantic splendor of the Himalayan foothills and the imminent danger lurking not far behind. Corbett magnanimously describes in great detail the courage displayed by several individual men, women and children of these jungles when taking on man-eaters at close quarters. That the events described are factual makes you shudder even while sitting in the quiet comfort of your living room.
Parallels could be drawn between Corbett and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" due to fact that they both decipher more than the average individual when given the same set of information. Much like Holmes, Corbett interprets the gender, age, physical characteristics, possible injuries (and cause thereof), direction of approach etc. of the man-eater by just studying it's pug marks. The only incorrect assumption he makes is that tigers do not have a sense of smell. I recently found out that this was untrue. Nevertheless, to the armchair hunter, this triviality can be ignored. An excellent read.
Rated by buyers -
This book is a collection of some of Jim Corbett's books, and it is really worth the expense to anyone who enjoys a good read. A bit of tongue-in-cheek, but very factual and understated, this book also describes life in India when it was the jewel in the British crown.
The author is a widely respected "shikari" who is ever ready to help simple village folk against wild animals who have turned vermin. However, he loves nature, and one can see how he revels in describing natural landscapes. He went on to become a very well-known conservationist, and the Indian Government has honoured him by naming the area he has described in his books as a National Park, with his name.
In the books, he describes how he learned to be a woodsman, and describes outdoor living in great detail. He describes a time when motoring was very rare, when the easiest way to travel was to depend on one's own two feet and a lot of "knee grease". His loving descriptions of nature, landscapes, jungles and jungle lore mark him as an environmentalist beyond any of today's known figures.
A must-read for anyone who enjoys reading.
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