[.ca] Horn of the Hunter: The Story of an African Safari (ISBN 1571572635)

from another bwana:
you know how they say''anticipation is sweeter than the possession'' thats what happened with me.Before buying this book I'have read the other reviwes,with no disrespect to other readers, but I think they have over done it a little.I am a long time big game hunter,what I found what is missing in this book is a thru heart of an hunter. The horn was there, but not the hunter. After reading the book, I remember more of the memsaabs hair care than the hunting adventures.I felt ,for Mr Ruark the shooting part of the safari was the most booring bit.Well that is his styl and I respect him I just wanted to share my thoughts with rest of my bwana brothers.Still a good reading.Especially to know the great character of Mr. Selby.

RUARK & HEMINGWAY:
After reading several reviews on this famous book and much wait when I finally got this book, truly I was a little bit disappointed during reading. I had in my mind something superior than Hemingway and Capstick's works. Before this I read his later book 'Use Enough Gun' which I think is better than this one. However, when I finished, it was added in my list of to-be-re-read books. These are the books which leave an impression on you, which take you in the atmosphere of theirs and you remember the good taste of the book as of very fine things in the life. Now I would say that Hemingway is a kind of more powerful and more hunter on this safari stuff, in the "Green Hills of Africa". His white hunter Philip Percival is not as much narrated as Herry Selby of Ruark's. Interstingly Selby is one of the pupil of Percival as Ruark is inspired by Hemingway. I think that the Ruark has the edge of being more comic and funny. His humouress narration of his own acts and that of his companions are different then many hero-type hunters-authors, who always succeed in every crisis. His desire to shoot a Greater Kudu trophy and story of fair chase and the end of chase....is a classic picture of true hunting attitude. He was not a rifle shooter before this safari as opposed to Hemingway who was a serious hunter. One of the finest parts in this book is the episode of sand grouse shooting and Ruark's pride on his expertise in bird shooting over his white hunter Selby, who used to surprise Ruark in rifle shooting. Collectively a very fine book on the African safari hunting in the golden era of long safaris.

It doesn't get any better than this.........:
I had heard alot about this book for years and finally got around to reading it. If you enjoy high quality adventure and hunting writing, it truly does not come better than this. Ruark takes the reader along on his (and his wife's) first African safari and makes us feel the sights, sounds, smells, adventure, boredoom, fatigue, terror etc. that he experiences as if we were there. His writing is at times witty and always interesting. A fascinating portrait of an era long gone. A great read.

BEST BOOK About an African Hunting Safari:
This is by far and away the BEST book I've ever read about a hunting safari in Africa. Ruark and his writing are in a class by himself. ALL the other books about him like Use Enough Gun were published after his untimely death. NONE of them compare. They are collections of articles and/or very short stories (some fiction) that collectively don't hold a candle to Horn of the Hunter. His writing makes you feel like you are beside him sharing his experiences. You will not regret buying this book. Simply the best!!

A Writer on Safari:
Robert Ruark's chronicle of his African safari in the 1950s. This is good reading for both outdoor buffs and readers of a more literary type. Ruark avoids the pitfall of turning his book into an extended article for "Field and Stream." Aside from the details of the big-game hunt, he sprinkles his narrative with recollections of his WWII combat experience, musings on the literary world of New York, books, movies about Africa, and life in America. The focal point of the book is the daily experience of fighting the African environment in the pursuit of the elusive prey. The descriptions of the wildlife are thrilling as the hunting party tracks across the primeval plains. Ruark gives full attention to the discomforts of safari life and the doubtful sanity of those who submit themselves to this type of "recreation." The killing is graphically described and not for the squeamish. Animal rights activists should steer clear of this book. Ruark has great fun describing himself as an Ernest Hemingway "wannabe." Comparisons to Hemingway's "Green Hills of Africa" are inevitable. Ruark is more self-deprecating than Ernest Hemingway, and can see the outrageous humor of it all. The white hunter guide, Harry Selby, falls short of the Allan Quartermain ideal. Selby is afraid of snakes and scorpions, and manages to get the safari lost at least once. Just as Hemingway, Ruark takes his wife, Jenny, along on safari. She handles the discomforts very well, and doesn't wimp out. This book won't be studied a 100 years from now in American Lit. classes, but it's diverting reading. It recalls the macho standards of a different era. Ruark's reputation has faded since his heyday in the '50s and early '60s. For those who remember, this book is an interesting footnote to his literary career. ;-)