Thank you for your replies. I still would like to know a little more about the man himself. Like where and how he died. Was he a PH up to that point etc. If anyone can help me out I would love to hear it. Also is there anybody on this forum that knew him personally and can tell a few stories first hand?

"Peter died in South Africa on March 13, 1996, after cardiac surgery...".
Fiona Capstick in foreward of 'Warrior' (the book Peter was writing when he passed to the great hunting grounds).

Fiona published her residence at the time of publication as:
Waterkloof, Pretoria
Republic of South Africa
January 11, 1997

I knew Peter and Fiona and her new husband Adelino Pires are friends of mine..Fiona and Adelino wrote The Winds of Havoc, an outstanding inside look at what is happening to Africa...a good read that you might like...

Peter was very controversial, but he could flat write a book and he probably did more to rejuvinate hunting in Africa than any other single individual..

To those who disaprove of him, so be it, he is a public figure and I suppose that goes with the territory..all I can say is "so what", its only gossip as far as I know and wheather he is embelishing a story or not makes little difference anyway...

He was always a gentlemen to the people around him and one of the great story tellers of our time...

Elcab....first of all i have to say that i envy you. i've read all his books and wish that, like you, i still had them all ahead of me to read for the first time. you may get some opinions of his writting that say he was not truthful. maybe he was or maybe he wasn't or, more probably, maybe he just "spiced up" the truth a little. for me and many others, none of that matters. i thoroughly enjoyed his writing and, as has already been said, nobody could make you feel like you were right there with him, like peter capstick could.

about his history...i'm no expert but i'll tell you what i can. i may not have it exactly right but it'll give you a place to start. i may get corrected a few times but here goes.
i think he grew up in rural new jersey. for a while he had some sort of job in the "wall street" world. i also believe he did a stint in the military. at some point he decided to be a pro hunter and ended up in south america taking people hunting for jaguar. for a while he was also a "professional client" for winchester adventures, which was in the business of setting up hunts and fishing trips for people. his african hunting career was in the early and mid 70's. he was a hunting pro and also a government game control officer. after that time he was pretty much a full time writer. eventually he moved to south africa and died there from what i think were complications after having heart surgery. i don't think he ever had any kids.

please excuse anything i left out or am not quite correct about. it's been several years since i read any of his books and i'm doing this from memory(or lack of memory ) anyone is welcome to correct anything that i am incorrect about here. enjoy the books...bud

Thank you again for your posts. You all say there is a bit of controversy in regards to the truth of Mr. Capsticks writing. I can see where this might be. However I have know enough old cowboys to know that a story isn't a story without the whole story. Meaning that if you can't make the recipiant of your story feel just as you felt as it was happening then there isn't much reason in telling it. To do this sometimes a person must make it a little dramtic and leave some to the imagination.
Another point that could be made is the more you do something the better the chances of seeing an odd or unusual situation. I would venture to say that Mr. Capstick saw enough African hunting to experience and see the situations he writes about.
I am sure this has all been argued before and I in no way feel that I am qualified to make an opinion as Africa is still a dream to me, but I will anyway and say that I think Mr. Capstick's writing is not BS.
Ray, did you ever hunt with Mr. Capstick?

In my opinon Capstick was the last great outdoor writer. He could make you see an African sunset. Smell a herd of buffalo. He brought his stories to life. A very visceral writer. I find most of the outdoor writing of today to be completley flat and commercial.

There is a big difference between telling a story and merely writing an after action report. I miss his writing and wish he hadn't left us so soon.

I know nothing of his true experiences as a "PH" what he did or didn't do. I just really enjoy his written word. He was the writer who lit the African fire in my soul and for that I'm ever thankfull.

I do know however, that Darrel Dandridge of Botwana did hunt with Peter and that Capstick was a PH during that time. According to Darrel. So he did have some hunting experience as a pro.

If you like books on Indian hunting, try Kenneth Anderson's books as well. Though he is not as famous as Corbett was, he too wrote some fine hunting books and got his share of maneaters, both tiger and leopard in the old days.

Most of Anderson and Corbett's books have been poublished in more than one collection by different publishers and you may find more than one title for essentially the same book.

Good hunting!