Man-Eaters Of Kumaon

First, I must say this is a beautifully published book in every respect, as are all the books in the Adventure Library - the binding is actually sewn, the endpapers are very nice, the type is clear and easy on the eyes, and the illustrations throughout are magnificent. It is just a pleasure to hold and read this book. In an age where hardcover bindings are glued in and crack after one reading and the average book is rushed to press before the typos are weeded out, this book reminds us that a book itself can be an object of art. This book contains the writings of Jim Corbett, a civil servant in British India who happened to be a crack shot and game tracker. Mr. Corbett was hired by the Government on several occasions to dispose of man eating leopards and tigers. What makes Jim Corbett's writings so noteworthy is their direct honesty and utter sense of humanity. Let me say upfront that I love tales of big game hunting, and I bought this book because, among big-game hunting literature, Jim Corbett's books are considered classics, along with the writings of more traditional hunters like Walter Bell and Frederick Courteney Selous. Among these big game hunting classics, Corbett's writings are unique in that, unlike most big game hunters, Corbett didn't seem to derive any "thrill of the hunt." He was doing a job he was very good at to save innocent lives, pure and simple. He had love and sympathy for the animals he was killing, and he became committed to killing them reluctantly. This feeling of respect for the animal and reluctance in its destruction is most evident in The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag. Once committed, however, Corbett seemed to take personal responsibility for every individual the man-eating leopard killed, and his sense of depression and guilt over each fresh kill done on his watch is palpable in these pages. This particular leopard stalked travelers and towns along the pilgrim's road that led to the shrines in Kedernath and Badrinath, often selecting children or the aged. Reading Corbett's plain, effective prose, the deadly situation takes on a religious significance. Corbett is defeated several times, each failure resulting in more pilgrims killed, and the pilgrims and people in the towns came to believe that the leopard was an evil spirit that had taken on material form. Let me wrap up by saying that Corbett was a man to be admired for his basic, down-to-earth humanity and his complete lack of self-congratulation. He was simply a man of high character and wrote plainly about being exhausted, disgusted with his failings, and just flat scared. He was also a very humble man and always seemed embarrassed by the extreme expressions of gratitude given him upon his ultimate success in bagging the man-eater. The final scene, where villagers come to the bazaar where the leopard is on display, is extremely moving. The people came in droves and one-by-one showered Corbett's feet with flowers while reciting tales of their children or loved ones that had been killed by the man-eater. Suffice to say this is one of the most simple and beautifully rendered scenes I have read in any book. Of all the big game hunting books I have read, Corbett's writings hold a special place for me. His skill as a hunter saved hundreds of lives, ending the suffering of more hundreds, perhaps thousands. Yet he never thought himself a hero. Perhaps that was the very quality that made him heroic.

Gift for my husbands birthday. He had been in search of it for a while and was surprised to find it available. Great condition, and one of his absolute favorites!

This book was intense in its content BUT the editing and spelling was very lacking. Some of the sentence construction required turning the page to comprehend and to take up the story after jibberish in the story text. The price is right and the author has amazing info to tell but the publisher needs to do some serious editing of the content. I got through it and I would buy it again.

Absolutely, the best book I’ve read to date. Jim Corbett has an engaging way of narrating the page turner. All are true stories which are to this day remembered by second generation Gharwalis’ grandparents and great grandparents , who actually saw or lived through these terrorizing times. I also read the Maneaters of Tsavo. It’s so evident by reading both books that Jim Corbett is truly the great shikari risking his life again and again to help local villagers out. He helped people with no personal gain and his hunting skills and aim seems to be far superior and shows that he’s an excellent sportsman. Amazing book. I present Jim Corbett’s books to my friends as well. Wonderfully written first accounts by Jim Corbett, gives a good picture of the scenery, the people, the culture and simple life of the villagers in India at that time too. Must read for sure!

I've must have read this book about 6 times since purchasing it 6 years ago. I like to alternate between Brian Herne, Peter Capstick and John Henry Patterson. All excellent story tellers that keep your eyes glued to every page. Jim Corbett was a true hunter and conservationist who hunted his beloved Kumaon region of India during the mid 1920's and early 1930's. During this time a hunter had to keep his witts about him along with a heavy dose of intestinal fortitude! His tactics for hunting and stalking man-eating tigers and the occational leopards is trully inspiring and sometimes bordering on insanity. To think that he would sometimes sleep out in the open knowing that a killer is lurking about! This is an amazing book that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in adventure and the outdoors. Whether you hunt or not, this book conveys to you the reader an actual sence of feeling towards the hunter the hunted and those villagers affected by the tragic occurances in early colonial India...

A great book, but no pictures in this one

Took a month just to ship! Still one of my favorite books.

This is the most exciting book I have ever read. Corbett is without doubt the best man-eater hunter in world history! Can’t recommend this book too highly!

Eine wunderschöne Fußmatte. Wir haben bisher Standard-Fußmatten verwendet und sind überrascht, was es für alternative Möglichkeiten gibt, Also: Aldi-Fußmatte raus und Salonlöwe rein.

An enthralling collection of true man-eater hunting stories by Jim Corbett - I read the paper book when I was about twelve years old, lost it on moving from house to house and found it again sixty-odd years later on Kindle's list. Jim was a great hunter turned conservationist, and his stories well show his respect for these magnificent beasts turned assassins which he was compelled to hunt down to preserve human lives.

This is a hum dinging Indian adventure. Jim Corbett the legendary Shikari, or hunter and a sterling example to young boys looking for an example of courage and gentlemanly conduct. Corbett was immensely fond of the region around Nainital which in those days was a hill station surrounded by dense and untamed forest. With little more than courage and his rifle, he performed a service in many regions of north India patiently tracking and then shooting a host of man eating tigers. He describes many stories on a case by case basis. One fearful story sticks out of a lady removed by a tiger from her hut, from the midst of her family as they slept on the floor, with the tiger silently entering and leaving via a small window, whose flower pot was not dislodged in the manouevre, carrying her prone body silently through this same window! In modern terms the killing of endangered species seems rather politically incorrect. One must understand the times and circumstances of those days, where one man eating tiger might kill a couple hundred villagers, effectively terrorising whole communities. He describes the art of tracking, the signs of a kill with blood trails and animal tracks all part of his focussed world that helped him subjugate these fearsome beasts. What is also clear is his immense respect for these animals and his immense courage- to shoot a 300Ib cat at twenty yards, between the eyes as it approaches you, and kill it instantly and humanely - is an astonishingly courageous feat. Later on Corbett or 'Carpetsahib' came to regret the slaughter of these magnificent beasts as he saw modernity encroaching irreversibly on their native habitats. This is effectively an autobiography and a classic of Raj India that gives a taste of a dying set of values in an ever shrinking world. Gentlemanly, and deeply loving of his Indian countrymen, as an English man he sets the example of genuinely Chivalrous conduct from a bygone and classical era, that says as much about the loss to modernity of Indias habitat , as it does about the loss to modernity of many old and 'classic' British qualities.

First book I can remember reading. Had mumps or measles and mother borrowed it from a local library. I was hooked. Couldn't put it down. Wonderful to read again, for different reasons though. Now its a kind of awe for the life Corbett lived. Spending years over the 20s and 30s in the jungles and villages of India.

Riveting. Mesmerizing. Thrilling. Makes your heart pound with both fear & excitement. Remember, these tales that Jim Corbett tells are TRUE stories, not some fancy fiction. An absolute must-read.