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White Hunters

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About this listen

 A little over 100 years ago, East Africa was terra incognita to most whites: a land largely unmapped, sparsely settled by Europeans, and teeming with wildlife. It was the hunter-adventurer's paradise, and by the early 20th century, a small, lionhearted clan of explorers and big-game hunters began leading safaris there for money. They became the legendary White Hunters of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, men who led manifold adventurers in pursuit of the world's biggest, most dangerous, and most sought-after game.

White Hunters is a nostalgic and densely-packed history of these men and their adventures, from the turn of the century until the 1970s when politics, a growing population, civil strife, and concern about species destruction intervened. Brian Herne has written a virtual and anecdotal Who's Who of White Hunters, crammed with the details of hundreds of hunts and the dozens of men who led them.

©1999 Brian Herne (P)1999 Blackstone Audiobooks Africa Animals Biological Sciences Hunting Hunting & Fishing Outdoors & Nature Science Sports History Adventure Sports Game Elephant

Critic reviews

"A rich portrait of a magnificent landscape, its animal inhabitants and some of its most reckless human interlopers." ( Publishers Weekly)
"An authoritative and colorful study of African safaris that will appeal to armchair adventurers and history buffs alike." (Wall Street Journal)
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Most relevant
Having worked in Kenya for a few years in the early 90s my wife and i spent hrs re examining all of the places we had been to as they cropped up in the book. The overwhelming thought we had is just how accurate the prologue was.
Where is the space for wild life now?

A very well written account.

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This unabridged insight into the history of big game hunting takes you straight to the heart of Africa, once famous names like Carr-Hartley and Selous are bought to life by the fantastically clipped colonial tones of the narrator. Unlike authors of the genre such as Capstick it doesn't over dramatise the events, they don't need it, it simply sets the scene and tells the story. Despite being written by a "Big White Hunter" it sympathetically deals with the socio-political issues that shaped much of Africa and that where ultimately to do more damage to the pursuit of big game than any poacher ( or well meaning conservationalist) ever could. A simply superb epithet to a bye gone age.

Brilliant Book

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Easily one of the best books I've ever listen to (3 times in full)
Narrator perfectly suits it. A fascinating look into the lives of big game hunters, poachers, conservationists and safaris in Africa

Fascinating

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Great stories but had to stop listening due to the miss pronounced names and place. Do your research please.

pronounce the name of the places an name properly

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White Hunters is a nostalgic insight into the lives of some of the most influential hunters and conservationists to shape the reputation and history of East Africa.

I am not a hunter, but a conservationist and naturalist. Hunting is an imporatnt, indeed crucial, component of conservation in Africa and this audiobook chronicles the events that led to the beginings of Wildlife Conservation, the National Parks service and today's Photo Safaris. But it is more than this, 'White Hunters' is a rolling adventure story, pockmarked with passion, intrigue, excitment and tragedy.

I must admit, I was hoping for a 'Capstick-style' series of adventures and was initially slightly disappointed with the all-too-brief descriptions of wildlife encounters, but as I got into the book, it became clear that, like my fellow reviewer here, no additional sensationalism was needed.

I have only given this a 4/5, because I ocassioanlly wished there was additional detail to go with the Safari Adventures, and although that would make the book double its already-long-length, it would be even more of a joy.

This is an audiobook for those interested in Colonial History, Hunting, Wildlife, Real Adventure and most importantly, Africa.

Ben Waddams

Excitement and Tragedy go hand-in-hand

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