Hunter by J.A. Hunter
Hunter by J.A. Hunter
Hardcover
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton, London, 1954
Used - Very Good. This book is in very good condition and the covers are beautifully preserved and the condition of the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far.
The DJ has some age related wear and small tears on the sides and spine with some paperloss and is now protected with a Cellophane cover. Previous owner name neatly inscribed on first page.
Using a series of past memoirs and journal entries, this book compiles fragments of the life as a white hunter during the apogee of British colonial Africa.
From his beginnings on a cold Scottish farm to his time on the wide open Kenyan plain, J. Hunter always had a passion for the trapping and shooting of wild game. In writing this book he seeks to describe perhaps the greatest period of big game hunting in recorded history. He details his beginnings as a wild ivory and skin hunter all through to his retirement as game ranger in charge of protecting what was once his prey.
Particular focus is given to the Big 5 of Africa, as well as the native tribes he encountered
during his time there. The book manages to balance professional jargon with layman's interest and does not get bogged down as a hunters guidebook, making it an enjoyable and interesting read. Highlights of the novel are the tales of foot safaris, scientific expeditions to the Congo and the encounters with various East African natives.
As much as it is a story of big game hunting, it is also a story of a changing country. Over the course of the hunters career Kenya transformed from a truly primitive land to a fully fledged colony. The destruction of wild land and encroachment of human cultivation is responsible for much of the novels content. This provides an additional ethical insight into the well trod understanding of trophy hunting and the view points of the time.
The author and co-author (a Mr. Daniel Mannix) use the books chapters to great affect. The discrete chapters work to create both an overarching tale of the hunters life, yet contain within themselves isolated narratives. This is particularly apparent in the great hunt chapters. This is a clever device to keep the book interesting and not a blow-by-blow account as is is typical of some biographies.
I would definitely recommend this book to a collector of Africana, especially those with an interest in colonial Kenya.