I have never met any of the other writters, but I have had the great opportunity to talk to Mr. Boddington on several occaisions and I can say this: he is a damn fine and truly pleasant human being and that goes a long ways in my book. His writting is enjoyable and he's a great guy who will say "HI!" and shake anyones hand and mean it when he does. What more can you want from a man?

quote:

Originally posted by guncurtis2:
I have never met any of the other writters, but I have had the great opportunity to talk to Mr. Boddington on several occaisions and I can say this: he is a damn fine and truly pleasant human being and that goes a long ways in my book. His writting is enjoyable and he's a great guy who will say "HI!" and shake anyones hand and mean it when he does. What more can you want from a man?

Couldn't agree more, I have met him several times at DSC convention, he signed his books for me and shook my hand, a good guy!

Aside from all of the dead folks referenced by everyone (Hemingway, Ruark, Capstick, etc. etc.), Craig has done more for African hunting than anyone else alive today. Plus, he is one fine gentleman. I have met and talked with him a number of times. What you see with Craig is what you get. He is genuine through and through. The real thing.

quote:

"Death in the Long Grass", "Green Hills of Africa", and "Horn of the Hunter were African Hunting books that where so well done they became famous pieces of literature

Baloney. I've said it before and I;ll say it again, Green Hills of Africa is NOT an "African hunting book." GHOA is a book about passion, obsession, jealousy, ego and many things. Yes it happens within the context of an African hunt, but to compare GHOA and HOTH as even remotely similar, is, in my opinion, completely misunderstanding both. Read the prologue of GHOA and Hemingway explains what he was trying to do.

is Short Happy Life of fancy pants macomber about buffalo hunting? No. HOTH was written as an account of one;s safari, thus a safari/hunting book, GHOA was written to explore certain traits of people and how they played themselves out on this trip. Vastly different things.

Craig has had as much influence on my African hunts as PHC, Ruark, and Hemmingway.. In a sense, even more so than the latter gents.

He was/is the African go-to guy of my generation..

I hope he continues to produce good African info by way of books, articles, DVDs, TV episodes, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:

quote:

"Death in the Long Grass", "Green Hills of Africa", and "Horn of the Hunter were African Hunting books that where so well done they became famous pieces of literature

Baloney. I've said it before and I;ll say it again, Green Hills of Africa is NOT an "African hunting book." GHOA is a book about passion, obsession, jealousy, ego and many things. Yes it happens within the context of an African hunt, but to compare GHOA and HOTH as even remotely similar, is, in my opinion, completely misunderstanding both. Read the prologue of GHOA and Hemingway explains what he was trying to do.

is Short Happy Life of fancy pants macomber about buffalo hunting? No. HOTH was written as an account of one;s safari, thus a safari/hunting book, GHOA was written to explore certain traits of people and how they played themselves out on this trip. Vastly different things.

Never the less a book about an actual African Safari that occured. Writen by a man who was a master of writing people, dialogues, and human interaction.

Brett

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:
So, the question is this. How many of you gained the majority of your African desires through the writings of Mr. Boddington?? Like I say, perhaps its my age, and I am of the generation that would have grown up from the time that Craig was writing alot about the subject. But at least for me, I am not sure my desires would have grown as much as they did, had it not been for the easy access I had to many of his stories about the Dark Continent. As I am sure by now, I am not the only one who feels this way, I wanted to get input and stories from some of you on the subject, and then I was thinking about writing an article about it as well. I think it's high time Craig gets the recognition as the newest "African Legend", much as the famous writers and story tellers of the past received from Craig's generation, long ago!! What says you?????

Aaron,
I have about a decade on you but I agree - Boddington's writings were a major infuence on my hunting decisions. Not only Africa, his infatuation with the 8mm rem mag lead me to get another after I had, with sorrow, sold my first. But to stick to your question and point - yep, he played a major role in my ultimate hunting experience. It may be what I perceive as his honest, humble, gentle and gentlemanly approach to writing and video, Craig Boddington has always struck me as the kind of guy with whom I would enjoy a dinner, a beer, a hunt or simply a chat by the fire. No melodrama and an honest admission to some of the foiables we all share.
So, in short - yes - a hero of sorts, but one of those regular folk all the same.

Boddington is a good egg.

He didn't exactly ignite the fire that drives me to Africa. Neither did Ruark, nor Hemingway.

I'd mention his name, but it seems to be controversial. I can't accuse him of lying to me as I wasn't dissappointed when I took myself there.

But Boddington keeps the fires stoked.

Capstick, Ruark, Burger, and others stimulated the interest and excitement. Boddington has educated, opened new perspectives, and prepared me for the experience. I would not leave any of the above out of the equation.

Craig has had an enormous impact on todays African hunters. Prior to todays technology it was pretty much books & magazines, some events and very few films that were available to the hunter wanting information on African hunting. Now (thankfully) to the internet and todays media we can have access to so much information that it actually makes it easy to plan an African hunt. It is easy to travel now and that is another plus for the average hunter on a limited budget. As for Craig, I have met him on several occasions at SCI and find him easy to speak to and have many times heard him say how lucky he is to have done the things that he has. I feel the same way about my hunting in and out of Africa. Craig has done much for African & other hunting and I am glad that I have had a chance to meet him, hear his seminars and enjoy his books, magazines and TV shows.

Aaron, Due to your thread, am now again enjoying GM Best of Tracks Across Africa Season 1. This time, though, saying aloud "Hey, I was there ..." every few minutes.
Thanks for reminding me to dig it out and watch it in this "off" season.
Paul

quote:

Green Hills of Africa is NOT an "African hunting book." GHOA is a book about passion, obsession, jealousy, ego and many things. Yes it happens within the context of an African hunt, but to compare GHOA and HOTH as even remotely similar, is, in my opinion, completely misunderstanding both.

So true.

It is unfair to Boddington to compare him to Hemingway.

Both write, and wrote, for completely different reasons. That is pretty much self evident to anyone who has read both.

I get a great deal of pleasure from both, but for entirely different reasons.

Hemingway's good stuff is ageless. A Moveable Feast is still as fresh today as it was when it was published. The same goes for A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bells Toll, as well as many of his short stories. A Clean Well Lighted Place is a monument to the human condition.

Craig is a sportswriter who specializes in African lore, and one hell of a fine job he does. And, thirty years from now, someone who wants to learn how and where to shoot a Cape buffalo and make a clean kill can do much worse than reading Boddington on Buffalo. I know it worked for me on the paltry two I have hunted. I owe those kills to Boddington.

Ruark's novels on the end of colonialism in Kenya are very readable and HOTH is a great hunting story, but a lot of Hemingway's stuff can be classified among America's classic literature.

As a footnote, Hemingway's experience in flying aboard charter aircraft in Africa can be a lesson to all of us.

Two successive light aircraft crashes wherin he suffered, among several serious injuries, a fractured skull and second degree burns, makes me think a bit every time I climb aboard a single engine Cessna in Africa and casually wonder if there were any contaminants in the fuel that was just recently pumped into the tanks, or whether or not those cylinder base nuts were adjusted to the proper torque value, and by whom.

I have spent a lot of time based in Kenya over an eight year period, and Ruark'ss Uhuru and Something of Value gave me an insight into where I was and the history of the country. Reading White Mischief by I forget who now didn't hurt, either.

Well, Craig for sure has certainly been an influence on me as well as the countless books of both old and new Africana. But in 6th grade a girl named Sarah came to my school after several years of living in Africa while her parents were missionaries.....then my cousins, aunt and uncle went to the RSA for 10 years and that pretty much gave me the bug. I was young and impressionable and Africa became a dream that I didn't get to realize until 2005, now I can't stop going!

TJB

quote:

But in 6th grade a girl named Sarah came to my school after several years of living in Africa while her parents

My story starts when I was 8, my best friend moved to Monrovia and we sent tapes we recorded over dinner back and forth for years. Ever since, Africa has been a constant topic of interest. Wish I still had those tapes, but alas, as every other generation, we rarely see the value in things until it is too late.