Jim Corbett, an Englishman born and raised in India, recounts some of his experiences hunting man-eating tigers in India during the first 30 years or so of the 20th century. Each story is thrilling edge of the seat, simple and easy to read, but vividly photographic. It is from a different era, not unlike Out of Africa with its mix of old-world grace and charm in an exotic but deadly part of the world. There is nothing a warm cup of tea, biscuit and 2 rounds of ammo can't accomplish. A legendary book by a legendary hunter it's ranked #48 in National Geographic's list of 100 all-time best Adventure books. During the 1950's it was hugely popular, including as a Book-of-the-Month selection (more important back then), and recently a number of TV movies. Freely available online at Internet Archive in its first edition (with pictures, no map). See also the free biography of Corbett loaded with additional pictures, maps and of course a biography. ( )

When I was a boy at school the Chaplain devoted the last divinity lesson of each term to reading us a chapter from Man Eaters of Kumaon. What I didn't appreciate was that the Chaplain, like Corbett, lived in Naini Tal, and came from a domiciled family in India and left the country when it became independent. I never did manage to digest the Chaplain's muscular christianity (or come to terms with his prickly character), but as a result of the stories I fell in love with the idea of India and tigers. When many years later I sat in a jeep listening for alarm calls from deer or monkies in the forests of central India, hoping for them to betray the presence of a tiger, Corbett's books came instantly to mind. I was even curious enough to go to Naini Tal, where it was so cold that the diesel froze in the car. The books are a marvellous read, and I still go on re-reading them (even though I know how each of the stories ends).

This book had the potential to be so much more than it ended up being. The author, a devoted naturalist and sportsman, certainly experienced a life deserving of biography and saved countless hundreds of native Indians through his eradication of man-eating tigers and leopards in the early half of the 20th century.

However, while the author is amazingly meticulous in describing the settings of his adventures, the paragraphs become hopelessly confusing and impossible to follow. Never have I seen writing so in need of diagrams, drawings or other visual aids to enhance the writer’s stories. With the exception of one laughably unhelpful map in the back of the book, there are no such aids included in the book. A good editor or artist could easily take the author’s prose and develop diagrams, and doing so would improve the reading experience immeasurably.

It is also hard to believe that there is not a single photograph in the entire book, though I see reference in the comments to previous editions that did in fact contain photos. I cannot imagine the thought process that went into publishing an edition that contains neither diagrams nor photographs.

Finally, the book contains numerous spelling and usage errors as well as transposed pages in some places. All in all, a very unprofessional job of editing and publishing what could otherwise be a first class reading experience. ( )

Here's another book I've read over and over again. First acquired in paperback when I was 12, I read it until it started to disintegrate (and I'm careful with books). About 30 years ago I was able to procure, used, the above edition, and I have no idea how many more times I've read it. Like Velocity, but in a totally different genre, Corbett draws you in, painting word-pictures of the art of hunting man-eating tigers, the Indian hill country, and the wonderful people who live there. Still today, over a half century later, the book still captivates me. ( )

Jim Corbett was a sportsman famous for hunting down man-eating tigers in India between 1910 and 1938. In his pursuit of tigers, Corbett traveled on foot to many remote areas, taking teams of men to assist him, but If it came to stalking a tiger on foot through the jungle, he usually did that solo. Although the reading is often quite dry, his accounts are full of fascinating details. Corbett describes much of his hunting lore: what information he could glean about the tigers from villagers' accounts and inspecting tracks, abandoned kills and other signs the big cats left behind; how his understanding of a tiger's habits enabled him to plan his encounters with them; how he could learn of a tigers' whereabouts by observing the behavior of other jungle animals; how he could lure the beast right to him by imitating tiger calls. He also explains why most tigers became man-eaters, and debunks some misconceptions about them. The descriptions of close encounters with tigers, whether Corbett's own cautious and carefully executed maneuvers or an ordinary villager's act of bravery, are truly hair-raising.

Even though Corbett was using his skills to hunt down man-eating tigers, he was not one who enjoyed hunting for the sake of killing. He was a naturalist, and spent just as much time tracking tigers to simply observe their behavior, photograph or film them. He writes of their beauty and power with respect. He shares observations of many other kinds of wildlife, including encounters with leopards and snakes, and one whole chapter is just about a day spent fly-fishing on a jungle stream. What an intriguing book.

from the Dog Ear Diary ( )